Career: Crop Farmers
You might grow heirloom tomatoes in Pennsylvania or acres of wheat in Kansas. Either way, you’ll have to know what your plants need, from water to fertilizer. And that’s not all. You’ll also need to know how to run a business, finding buyers and hiring workers.
Farming involves a thousand different tasks, but there’s satisfaction in making things grow and knowing that you’re helping to feed the people of the world.
Crop farmers till, plant, fertilize, cultivate, harvest, and sell a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and cotton.
Did You Know?
- Since many farms are still family-owned, farming jobs are largely inherited.
Are You Ready To...?
- Install a drip irrigation system
- Cut down old trees, making room for a new variety of apple
- Drive hours to sell your crop at a farmers’ market in the city
- Take out a loan to buy a new sprayer
- Pick bugs off your organic cabbage crop by hand
- Keep records of purchases and sales for tax purposes
- Maintain a computerized customer database
It Helps to Be...
Flexible. You’ll be doing everything from pulling out weeds to taste-testing your own product.
Make High School Count
- Take science courses such as biology and chemistry. These will help you understand how plants grow, as well as how pesticides and fertilizers work.
- Learn more about food in consumer and family studies classes.
- Start building the skills you’ll need to run a business. Pay attention in English and math and sign up for classes in computers, business, and accounting.
- Join Future Farmers of America or participate in 4-H programs.
- Work on a local farm.
Did You Know?
- Farmers’ markets, where farmers can sell their crops directly to customers, have saved many small farms.
Outlook
Government economists predict that small farms will continue to go out of business through 2014. More than 20 percent of self-employed and unpaid family workers will be out of work. However, there should be some new jobs for farm managers and food producers. Keep in mind, though, that this growth will probably be slower than in other industries.
Farming has become both more productive and more expensive, driving out many small farms. However, some small-scale farmers have found market niches, such as organic produce.
Compensation
The earnings of crop farmers vary widely depending on farm size and crops grown. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates the average yearly salary for farm, ranch, and other agricultural managers in 2006 at $58,550.
