Careers in the agriculture industry comprise education, logistics, engineering, communication, and science jobs. Numerous opportunities in the agriculture industry are opening up due to the expansion of technology use and implementation on farms, in plants, and inside agricultural enterprises across the sector. Today, people with various backgrounds—from management and business to technology and science- find rewarding careers in agriculture. So, if you have an agriculture degree and are searching for the best-paying jobs in farming, this article will bring a lot of important information about the jobs that are great for you. Here are the top 22 best-paying jobs in farming.
Importance Of the Agricultural Sector
Agricultural employment entails the harvesting, gathering, and manufacturing of crops or food items such as meat and dairy products. Many procedures and activities occur in the agricultural business, necessitating a variety of professions. For example, a corporate farm may offer various business occupations, such as managerial, technological, customer support, and labor-related tasks. Here are 22 of the best and highest-paying jobs in farming.
1. Farm Manager
A farm manager is an agricultural professional who oversees the daily routine operations of farming properties. They usually hire, and train workers, plan & schedule work for them, and organize the proper maintenance of farm equipment. These managers also ensure that animals thrive, crops grow healthy and all of their other resources utilize very well. Most of the managers have higher bachelor’s degrees in farming, and employers also prefer applicants having work experience on farms. As a farm manager, you must be familiar with the local laws related to marketing practices and agricultural production. It will help ensure that your farms comply very well with the regulations set by the government.
Salary: USD 81,000 per year
2. Agricultural Specialist
Agricultural specialists are the people in farming and are trained border patrol and customs professionals. They are responsible for ensuring that the product imported from various countries comply with the standards and policies set by the United States government. These professional officers help locate, identify, and mitigate all agricultural threats before entering import products inside the country. The national salary of an agricultural specialist is $53,298 per year.
Salary: USD 53,298 per year
3. Forester
Forestry professionals are essential in the land’s management, conservation, and restoration. These specialists design, organize and carry out a range of environmental protection and maintenance projects, such as observing wildlife habitats as well as agricultural impacts on wildlife, putting out forest fires, and carrying out conservation efforts to safeguard wildlife, ecosystems, as well as agricultural lands. The average salary per annum of a forester is USD 48,380.
Salary: USD 48,380 per annum
4. Water Treatment Specialist
These professionals in the farming sector provide water purification and treatment tasks. These specialists help to supervise filtration equipment and install water purification plants in various areas. They also help manage storage and water distribution processes to ensure the efficacy and safety of drinking clean water. They also manage how to use water resources in the best way. The salary of water treatment specialists is USD 53,000 per annum.
Salary: USD 53,000 per annum
5. Food Technologist
Food technologists are the people who look at, research, and analyze the physical, biological, and chemical parts of foods. These are the professionals who are well known for developing and devising methods used by companies to use the process of manufacturing food, packaging food, and final distribution to its consumers across the target companies worldwide.
Average salary: USD 60,000 per year
6. Agricultural Operation Manager
The person responsible for sustaining processes in massive agribusinesses such as mills or grain production is an agricultural operations manager.
The managers are in charge of ensuring the smooth execution of everyday activities and directing employees and inventories. Operations managers must have a fundamental understanding of farming and great management and organizational abilities.
Average salary: USD 70,000 per year
7. Agronomy Sales Manager
Agronomy sales managers are the driving force behind the agriculture business. These experts will coach a group of farmers in various locations about how to look after their crops or land. They also distribute and market fertilizer, soil, and seeds.
Average salary: USD 70,000 per year
8. Food Scientist
After that, a food scientist collects information about a foodstuff, certifies it as safe, and carefully decides how long you may store your meal. Food scientists and other experts cooperate to guarantee that agricultural food grown in this manner is safe.
Average salary: USD 50,000 per year
9. Seed District Sales Manager
A seed sales manager is the person who is responsible for managing the direct sales activities related to agricultural dealers and growers. In the profession, the manager needs to work with the farmers to gain profit goals and help sell products such as soybeans, wheat, corn, etc. The main duty performed by the manager is to help clients or customers to build a healthy network within the territory, negotiate product prices, and disturbers products. They are also responsible for developing and reviewing their organization’s marketing systems and business plans. They also help in recruiting and training deals and growers. They help train new entry dealers on various products in the process. The seed district manager also helps lead the sales team in an organization.
Average salary: USD 1,00,000 per year
10. Agricultural Equipment Technician
Agricultural equipment experts assist farmers in maintaining and repairing farm machinery.
It is also critical to be able to read blueprints to determine which pieces need to be replaced following an accident. Agricultural equipment specialists can operate in various settings, such as manufacturing enterprises, dealers, repair shops, and fields. They examine agricultural gear to ensure that it is in good operating order. These technicians may also contribute to the development of new agricultural machinery technologies.
Average salary: USD 93,000 per year
11. Dairy Nutritionist
A dairy nutritionist has the authority to prepare and maintain a nutritious diet for dairy cows. Cattle feed ingredients can assist enhance milk output and the nutritional content of consumer dairy products produced from milk. A dairy nutritionist’s responsibilities include assessing the cow diet and proposing vitamins and grains that are added to enhance it. They collaborate with producers and veterinarians to assure the herd’s welfare and provide a balanced diet that helps the cattle and the farmer’s budget.
Average salary: USD 91,000 per year
12. Feed Mill Manager
Feed mill managers are the person who looks after a mill that helps in producing healthy feed for the animals. These professionals also oversee the safety, quality, budget, and production of facilities needed by the farmers. The feed mill manager’s responsibility is to review the production record of the products manufactured in a mill and make production on a scheduled basis. They also keep proper inventory records needed to produce any certain product. Other duties performed by the feed mill manager are supervising and training new employees, resolving client issues, and conducting regular meetings related to an organization’s safety.
Average salary: USD 86,000 per year
13. Crop Consultant
A crop consultant is another high-paying job in the farming industry. They are responsible for watering, fertilizing, planting, and watering crops. Crop consultants usually work with farmers to figure out the best ways to improve soil fertility, get rid of weeds, deal with pests, rotate crops, and water them. These are the professionals who are experts in the entire farming department and help increase the overall production of crops. Most organizations hire those people as crop consultants who have bachelor’s degrees in agronomy, biology, or agriculture. If you want to join as a crop consultant, it is important to know about a field. Once you get the required experience, it’s time to earn lots of money in this profession.
14. Grain Merchandiser
A grain merchandiser is a person who buys and sells grain. Grain merchandisers purchase grain from farms and sell it to processing plants, where it is ground into flour, corn meal, or other food products. These people buy and sell agricultural commodities, such as corn, wheat, soy, and rice. The main function of the grain merchandiser is to supply the market with food. They work to know how much demand there will be for a particular type of food so that they can buy from farmers accordingly. Grain merchandisers also help farmers by buying their products at their lowest price and then selling them when demand for food increases. Grain Merchandisers are typically located near ports and rail lines so they can easily transport their goods for sale. Some grain merchandisers are also called grain brokers. Grain merchandisers are responsible for the trade of grains, including wheat, corn, and rice. They manage the movement of grains from the merchant’s warehouse to the buyer’s warehouse and manage their payment. Grain merchandisers must be familiar with their inventory and the costs associated with carrying inventory for a given commodity.
Average salary: USD 75,000 per year
15. Irrigation manager
Irrigation managers must be prepared for various situations, such as storms, droughts, and equipment malfunction. If there is insufficient rainfall, then irrigation managers must be ready to use other methods, such as water from a reservoir stored or groundwater wells. Irrigation is a highly specialized field that requires significant training and experience to be an irrigation manager. The process of managing a water system, like irrigation, has been simplified by modern technology. Technology has made it easy for anyone to learn about the function of irrigation systems and take control if needed. They are responsible for managing the frequency, timing, and amount of water used during a certain period to keep grasses green or plants flourishing at all times.
Average salary: USD 72,000 per year
16. Precision Farming Specialist
Precision farming specialists are individuals who are experts with precision machinery and software. They deeply understand the spatial analytics involved in planning, designing, and executing precision agriculture technologies.
They often work in agricultural engineering, agronomy, and surveying. These specialists work with multidisciplinary teams, including field technicians, marketing or sales professionals, engineers, and data scientists. To accomplish their tasks, they must be proficient in soil science, biology, plant sciences, entomology, hydrology/water quality management, etc. Precision farming specialists are individuals who are educated in both the physical and life sciences. They use various tools, including uncrewed aerial vehicles, satellite imagery, and global positioning systems, to help farmers decide about planting and harvesting.
Average salary: USD 66,000 per year
17. Crop Advisor
Crops are an integral part of the world’s food supply. Crops provide food for humans and animals, raw materials such as wood and cotton for industry, fiber for textiles, and fuel in the form of biofuels. Successful crop production depends on various factors, including soil type, climate, water availability, nutrients in the soil or fertilizers applied (organic or chemical), and the natural enemies of crop pests. Crop advisor is a profession that is rapidly growing in use and importance. The job of a crop advisor has a different time than a set time, but many crop advisors work seasonally. A typical day for a crop advisor includes traveling to farms to evaluate crops, determining recommended treatments to solve issues farmers are experiencing, educating farmers on the latest technologies, and ensuring they follow best practices. Crop advisors are professionals who provide solutions to farming and agricultural needs. They work with clients to identify, plan and execute local solutions that are economically and environmentally sustainable. These professionals may also provide input on new technologies such as drones or satellite imagery.
Average salary: USD 60,000 per year
18. Tractor Mechanic
Tractor mechanics work with the machinery used in agriculture to help farmers and ranchers. They may also provide maintenance and repairs for these machines. These mechanics, supply dealers, and equipment leasing companies are often hired by agricultural businesses to fix things and sell parts. The duties of a tractor repair specialist can vary depending on what type of tractor they work with: they may specialize in one type or work as a generalist. The physical nature of this job can cause a tractor mechanic to get dirty from time to time, but it can also require some heavy lifting. The job is hard work, with manual labor often required. The tractor mechanic must be able to diagnose problems, fix them, and maintain* the equipment. A tractor mechanic must have strong mechanical skills and knowledge of hydraulics, pneumatics, and air brakes.
Average salary: USD 52,000 per year
19. Produce Buyer
A produce buyer manages the stock of vegetables and fruits at a supermarket shop or chain. Your work obligations in this field include sourcing products and setting a wholesale cost within your employer’s limit. You can make relationships with distributors or growers directly. Your tasks include inspecting the things you intend to buy to ensure their quality. Most produce purchasers constantly seek providers that can provide high-quality items at reasonable pricing. You must also be knowledgeable about supply chain, rack, and current commodities market trends.
Average salary: USD 73,000 per year
20. Bioinformatics Scientist
Plant and animal life is often complex, which makes gathering and updating data on each of them quite difficult – and this is where bioinformatics scientists come in. Bioinformatics researchers can construct a more powerful approach for analyzing diversity with the aid of innovation as well as software engineering. Different scientists may analyze information much more quickly and use computerized data mining and assimilation; this is especially beneficial in plant or crop hereditary traits, which is critical to agriculture.
Average salary: USD 1,00,000 per year
21. Biochemist
Biochemistry is the branch of science that administers scientific research and the science of living creatures for the benefit of humanity. The biochemist aimed to generate quick-growing, high-producing, pest and drought-resistant types in horticulture. Rural enterprises engage natural chemists to examine, invent, and locate market things to increase the production of agricultural commodities that benefit both humans and animals.
Average salary: USD 62,000 per year
22. Veterinarian
Veterinarians are farming professionals who work closely with livestock producers and ranchers to provide medical care and monitor animal health on a daily basis. These professionals help with pathogen prevention, livestock treatment, daily routine checkups, and disease prevention. They help in treating, examining, and testing animals and prescribing them medications. They educate other clients on the importance of regular vaccinations and provide the necessary treatment for the best preventive care. They also trained veterinary assistants and other staff members.
Average salary: USD 1,12,000 per year
Conclusion
To apply for these jobs, you should have at least 3 to 4 years of college education and a bachelor’s degree in farming or agriculture. All the above posts serve as the top 22 best-paying jobs in the farming industry. So, without wasting your time, pick the best profession that matches your skill set and makes your career bright. After fulfilling the criteria, you can get an entry-level job position in various fields. Try to make your future bright, and always be ready to accept challenges that come your way. In the end, which of the above fields is best for your career? I will be glad to learn about your work experience and interests.
