What is a Farmworker?
Career Description Attend to live farm, ranch, or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep, and collect eggs in hatcheries.
Life As a Farmworker
- Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
- Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps.
- Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
- Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
- Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions.
- Trim and shear poultry beaks, toes, and wings using debeaking machines, heated hand shears, or hot wires.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Farmworker?
When polled, Farmworkers say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Other Farmworker Job Titles
- Cattle Driver
- Groomer
- Fleece Tier
- Artificial Breeding Distributor
- Field Aide
Is There Job Demand for Farmworkers?
There were about 268,100 jobs for Farmworker in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Farmworker. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 38,600 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Farmworker are Georgia, Colorado, and Alaska. Watch out if you plan on working in South Carolina, Mississippi, or New Jersey. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Do Farmworkers Make A Lot Of Money?
The average yearly salary of a Farmworker ranges between $18,410 and $41,840.

Farmworkers who work in Washington, Louisiana, or Iowa, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Farmworkers in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $27,590 |
Alaska | $34,790 |
Arizona | $31,930 |
Arkansas | $26,950 |
California | $31,500 |
Colorado | $31,550 |
Connecticut | $35,940 |
Delaware | $32,890 |
Florida | $30,340 |
Georgia | $31,500 |
Hawaii | $33,260 |
Idaho | $28,670 |
Illinois | $28,270 |
Indiana | $26,620 |
Iowa | $31,670 |
Kansas | $27,160 |
Kentucky | $27,110 |
Louisiana | $34,790 |
Maine | $29,110 |
Maryland | $29,950 |
Massachusetts | $31,990 |
Michigan | $26,140 |
Minnesota | $28,480 |
Mississippi | $35,870 |
Missouri | $28,630 |
Montana | $25,850 |
Nebraska | $30,540 |
Nevada | $29,950 |
New Hampshire | $32,620 |
New Jersey | $27,210 |
New Mexico | $25,010 |
New York | $33,010 |
North Carolina | $26,010 |
North Dakota | $28,020 |
Ohio | $30,290 |
Oklahoma | $25,080 |
Oregon | $26,180 |
Pennsylvania | $26,560 |
South Carolina | $29,960 |
South Dakota | $31,210 |
Tennessee | $26,660 |
Texas | $27,070 |
Utah | $26,750 |
Vermont | $34,370 |
Virginia | $28,020 |
Washington | $34,270 |
West Virginia | $29,810 |
Wisconsin | $28,650 |
Wyoming | $29,380 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Farmworkers
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Farmworkers may use on a daily basis:
- Web browser software
- Spreadsheet software
- BCL Landview Systems WinCrop
- Farm Works Software Trac
Becoming a Farmworker
Are there Farmworkers education requirements?

What work experience do I need to become a Farmworker?

Where Farmworkers Are Employed

The table below shows the approximate number of Farmworkers employed by various industries.

Related Careers
Those thinking about becoming a Farmworker might also be interested in the following careers:
Career changers with experience as a Farmworker sometimes find work in one of the following fields:
References:
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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