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E-MAILFarm business management agent salary & career outlook
by Aimee Hosler | July 11, 2011
Farming today is bigger, more complex and more business-centric than ever before. While small family farms have received a bit of a boost from the recent farm-to-table movement, most U.S. food is produced on large-scale farms that benefit as much from business management advice as from daily weather reports. This is where farm business management agents come in.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), farm business management agents are hands-off, meaning they do not plant, harvest or perform any other manual labor. Instead, agents hire and supervise workers, monitor production and marketing, oversee property and equipment maintenance, and set financial parameters. Good agents have basic farming knowledge along with a solid understanding of farm management, marketing and agricultural law.
Typical farm business management salaries
Farm business management agents' salaries tend to fluctuate with the market, making them difficult to estimate. According to the BLS, the average farm manager, including farm business management agent, salary in 2010 was $775 a week, or about $40,400 per year. The top 10 percent, however, earned more than $1,735 per week, or about $90,000 annually. PayScale.com similarly reports that the average farm business management agent salary in 2010 ranged from $20,583 to $65,957.
Because farm business management agents' salaries depend on their states' agricultural success, where you live can significantly impact your earnings. The BLS notes the following states offered the highest median farm business management agent salary in 2010:
- Massachusetts
- California
- Nevada
Because living costs impact your disposable income, it's important to consider cost of living in addition to baseline earnings. According to information from both the BLS and the Council for Community and Economic Research's Cost of Living Index, the following metro areas offered some of the highest farm management salaries in 2010 relative to cost of living:
- Sandusky, Ohio
- Lansing, Mich.
- Naperville - Joliet, Ill.
Perhaps the greatest farm management salary driver of all, however, is education; formal training opens doors to positions with larger, better-paying agribusiness firms.
How to become a farm business management agent
The BLS notes that while many farm managers learn on-the-job, employers increasingly prefer to hire those with two- or four-year agribusiness-related degrees from farm business management agent schools. There are a number of farm business management agent schools that offer hybrid programs combining both traditional and online courses. Because much of an agent's formal education requires spending time on a farm or ranch, most cannot complete their entire farm business management agent training online. Still, the additional flexibility of online courses can make it easier for remote students or working professionals to advance their educations.
Career outlook for farm business management agents
While the farming industry as a whole is facing a bit of a slump, demand for farm business management agents is actually growing. According to the BLS, agriculture careers overall are projected to decline by 5 percent in the decade preceding 2018, yet positions among farm management professionals are expected to grow by 6 percent. The best opportunities will likely come from small-scale, local farms, particularly those specializing in organic goods.
