jobfacts

Farm worker

Farm workers — SOC 2020 9111

Farm workers perform a variety of tasks, by hand and machine, to produce and harvest crops and to breed and rear cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.

Also calledFarm labourerTractor driverFarm assistantYard manPoultry catcherCowmanand 42 more titles
Typical full-time pay£30,1002025 Provisional
People in the job41,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month1,000↓ 6.7%on last year · 191st of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time farm workers earn between £25,600 and £36,100 a year.

What full-time farm workers earn, 2025
£30,100 typical£21,700lowest 10%£25,60025%£38,600top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£25,600–£36,100)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£21,700
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,800
25%£25,600
Median£30,100
75%£36,100
Top 20% earn more than£38,600
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Many (31%) of farm workers work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed farm workers earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £30,100
North West!£38,600
East Midlands!£33,000
South West!£31,000
East of England!£30,000
South East!£29,300
West Midlands!£28,300
Scotland!£25,800
Wales!£24,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £30,100
North West£38,600 (small sample)
East Midlands£33,000 (small sample)
South West£31,000 (small sample)
East of England£30,000 (small sample)
South East£29,300 (small sample)
West Midlands£28,300 (small sample)
Scotland£25,800 (small sample)
Wales£24,700 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £26,200
  • 2024 £27,200
  • 2025 Provisional£30,100
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,000 jobs for farm workers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,192
Jul 20261,343
Jun 20261,087
May 20261,163
Apr 20261,064
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026939
Jan 2026903
Dec 2025384
Nov 2025853
Oct 2025996
Sept 20251,099
Aug 20251,357
Jul 20251,307
Jun 20251,195
May 20251,297
Apr 20251,084
Mar 20251,088
Feb 20251,121
Jan 2025826
Dec 2024410
Nov 2024870
Oct 20241,175
Sept 20241,173
Aug 20241,464
Jul 20241,511
Jun 20241,249
May 20241,361
Apr 20241,021
Mar 2024624
Feb 2024633
Jan 2024667
Dec 2023380
Nov 2023413
Oct 2023576
Sept 2023628
Aug 2023792
Jul 2023948
Jun 20231,414
May 20231,160
Apr 20231,096
Mar 20231,039
Feb 2023876
Jan 20231,139
Dec 2022746
Nov 20221,151
Oct 20221,208
Sept 20221,372
Aug 20221,394
Jul 20221,370
Jun 20221,289
May 20221,411
Apr 20221,073
Mar 20221,262
Feb 20221,225
Jan 20221,465
Dec 2021977
Nov 20211,382
Oct 20211,394
Sept 20211,484
Aug 20211,526
Jul 20211,816
Jun 20211,684
May 20211,757
Apr 20211,639
Mar 20212,084
Feb 20211,277
Jan 20211,177
Dec 2020857
Nov 20201,016
Oct 20201,323
Sept 20201,347
Aug 20201,323
Jul 2020830
Jun 2020474
May 2020403
Apr 2020570
Mar 20201,099
Feb 20201,256
Jan 20201,115
Dec 2019737
Nov 2019941
Oct 20191,152
Sept 20191,187
Aug 20191,428
Jul 20191,606
Jun 20191,363
May 20191,600
Apr 2019949
Mar 20191,130
Feb 20191,066
Jan 20191,336
Dec 2018579
Nov 2018993
Oct 20181,078
Sept 20181,278
Aug 20181,360
Jul 20181,248
Jun 20181,381
May 20181,321
Apr 20181,310
Mar 20181,397
Feb 20181,219
Jan 20181,284
Dec 2017666
Nov 20171,124
Oct 20171,381
Sept 20171,346
Aug 20171,747
Jul 20171,562
Jun 20171,999
May 20171,789
Apr 20171,611
Mar 20171,732
Feb 20171,375
Jan 20171,147
Is there a shortage of farm workers?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedWell above usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedWell above usual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
53%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for elementary agricultural occupations, which includes farm workers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London195
Somerset61
North Yorkshire56
Bristol, City of47
Wiltshire44
Cornwall37
Cotswold36
East Suffolk32
Dorset31
Highland30
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where farm workers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 25,113 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, ranking it 1st of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of farm workers
33%!
21%!
9.7%!
10%!
18%!
9.1%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2433% (small sample)
25–3421% (small sample)
35–449.7% (small sample)
45–5410% (small sample)
55–6418% (small sample)
65+9.1% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!8.3%
Higher education below degree!6.4%
A levels or equivalent29%
GCSEs or equivalent34%
Other qualifications!9.1%
No qualifications!11%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent8.3% (small sample)
Higher education below degree6.4% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent29%
GCSEs or equivalent34%
Other qualifications9.1% (small sample)
No qualifications11% (small sample)

Main employers: mixed farming (27%), raising of dairy cattle (19%), raising of poultry (13%), support activities for crop production (7.9%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
8.3%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 34%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work
Self-employed
31%
of people in the job

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could take a course at an agricultural college, such as:

  • practical farm animal care skills
  • agriculture
  • tractor driving
  • T Level in Agriculture, Land Management and Production

Courses combine theory and practical skills and can include units on crop production, animal husbandry and operating farm machinery.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

The following apprenticeships might be relevant depending on the type of farming you're interested in:

  • General Farm Worker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Poultry Worker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Poultry Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Livestock Unit Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

It can take between 1 and 2 years to complete, depending on the apprenticeship you do.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Apply directly

There is no set route to become a farm worker but it might help if you:

  • have an interest in farming
  • enjoy working outdoors
  • have experience of working on a farm from a weekend or holiday job
  • have knowledge of basic mechanics

What you’ll need

  • have a good level of fitness

You may need a driving licence for some jobs.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

As a farm worker or tractor driver, you might work long hours especially during busy periods, such as lambing season and harvest time.

Salary can vary depending on the hours worked and the time of year. You may also get other benefits including:

  • free or subsidised accommodation
  • travel pay
  • profit shares
  • vehicle use
  • production bonuses
Further information

You can find out more about careers in farming and agriculture from Lantra and Tasty Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for farm worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • operates farm machinery to prepare soil, fertilise and treat crops
  • cultivates growing crops by hoeing, spraying and thinning as necessary
  • weighs and measures foodstuffs, feeds animals and checks them for any signs of disease
  • cleans barns, sheds, pens, yards, incubators and breeding units and sterilises milking and other equipment as necessary
  • Treats minor ailments, delivers vaccinations and other medicines under the direction of the veterinary surgeon, and assists the veterinary surgeon as required
  • Catches, moves, and handles livestock, including in preparation for transport
  • carries out maintenance on farm buildings, hedges, ditches and erects and repairs fences

Skills

  • execute disease and pest control activities
  • execute fertilisation
  • grow plants
  • harvest crop
  • maintain storage facilities
  • monitor fields
  • operate agricultural machinery
  • prepare equipment for harvest
  • prepare planting area
  • prepare planting area for planting
  • propagate plants
  • store crops
  • store products
  • irrigate soil

Knowledge

  • agronomy
  • crop production principles
  • ecology
  • fertilisation principles
  • organic farming
  • pest control in plants
  • plant disease control
  • plant harvest methods

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for elementary trades and related occupations, a group of 8 jobs that includes farm workers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 21%about 97,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 203556,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.