Who Is A Farm Manager And What Do They Do? – Farm management utilizes agricultural economics to give information about markets, prices, agricultural policies, and economic institutions. Continue reading this article as you will be finding out details about farm managers.
Who Is A Farm Manager And What Do They Do?
The farm manager is responsible for managing many aspects of the smooth running of the farm. To implement best practices, it is necessary to keep up with the development of agricultural science.
Farm managers must also be able to sell produce to food distributors, market produce, and generate regular income for the farm. It requires some knowledge of marketing and business.
Duties include personnel management, maintaining supplier and customer relationships, budgeting, administrative tasks, and overall farm maintenance planning.
A farmer employs a farmer to manage a farm. Farm managers are responsible for increasing yields and profits by making crop, livestock, and production decisions, planning farm operations, supervising other workers, planting, spraying crop protection chemicals, harvesting, marketing, and selling crops, and documenting all details, including instructions. farm finance and strategic planning.
Many farms are built on large tracts of land and are operated by companies or company managers. Farm managers are assigned tasks based on the size and complexity of the farm. If the farm is located in a large area, then the farm management is among the many farm managers who are responsible for only part of the work assigned to them. If it is a smaller or less complex farm, a manager manages the entire farm and provides labor as needed. Labor-intensive activities include driving tractors in the fields, operating machinery and equipment, spraying manure, and driving cattle.
Farm Manager Responsibilities
- Recruitment and training of agricultural workers.
This is one of the jobs of a farm manager, they hire or hire people to work on the farm and train them well in all aspects of the daily management of the farm. - Advertising and marketing of agricultural products.
Another job of this farm manager is to promote his products and market them to those in need. Advertising and marketing cannot be done locally, farm managers often go to the market because that is how marketing is done.
- Preparation of budgets and financial accounting.
They also do what is called a budget, which means they make a business plan before starting a business that tells them how much it will cost and how much profit they will make. Keeping financial records is also very important because you cannot make mistakes in farming.
- Have updated information about pests and diseases.
Farm managers must also be aware of the pests and diseases on the farm and the appropriate pesticides and herbicides to use at the appropriate time in case of damage to animals or crops. - Analyze current operations, crops, animals, personnel, and financial records and make recommendations for improvements.
- Establish planting and harvesting plans and schedules and ensure team expectations are understood.
- Visit various sections to study plants and animals and perform soil and water tests.
- Regular replacement of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and other materials.
- Help recruit and train new employees.
- Collaboration with management in the preparation of budgets and financial reports.
- Build professional networks and follow the evolution of agricultural science.
- Develop the program of repair, maintenance, and replacement of equipment and machines.
- Marketing and sale of agricultural products (eg fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meats, and cereals).
- Ensure that all staff comply with health and safety regulations.
Skills Required From A Farm Manager
1. Stress management
A farm can be a stressful place. This is especially true in difficult economic times when farmers are faced with rising input costs and low prices for basic products. In addition, isolation, long work hours, and disease outbreaks are common day-to-day experiences of a property manager.
To be successful as a farm managers, they must have the emotional resilience and resilience to deal with these stressors relentlessly for years. They need to know how to handle this pressure responsibly while keeping a clear mind for day-to-day operations.
2. Sufficient professional knowledge
This category contains technical information, e.g. Knowledge of production technology, marketing techniques, engineering experience, relevant legislation, financial resources, and historical management principles and theories, eg planning, organization, and control.
3. Good organizational skills
Good organizational skills are another important quality that a modern farm manager must possess. Personnel, finances, equipment maintenance, repairs (including record keeping), etc. It helps keep everything running smoothly on the farm or farm.
Organized farm managers can quickly share information because it is readily available. They also find it easier to deal with the daily challenges of running a farm or ranch because they have a clear workflow or action plan.
4. Social skills
One of the often-cited definitions of leadership is “getting things done through others.” This description may not be enough, but it illustrates one of the main features of the property manager’s job: it requires interpersonal skills. Successful farm managers develop several important skills in such activities; communication, delegation, negotiation, conflict resolution, persuasion, selling, applying, and responding to authority and power.
Even on properties with little or no staff, significant other family members, contractors, repairmen, agents, neighbors, etc. can use this ability.
5. Good communication skills
Communication is important in all aspects of life, so being a good communicator is essential for any modern farmer. They must be in contact with the team on all matters and have excellent written communication skills to keep proper records.
Also, being an effective communicator means that you can listen effectively; This is important for employees and customers who may have issues that need to be addressed.
6. Mental agility
The term “mental agility” refers to a general level of intelligence, but includes the ability to quickly grasp a problem, think about several things at once, move quickly from one problem or situation to another, and see the whole situation. fast. (instead of reviewing all of its components) and “think fast”.
Given the hectic nature of running an agribusiness, this is crucial to success.
Conclusion
Farm managers work to manage and perform the tasks associated with the day-to-day and long-term management of large commercial farms. It is your responsibility to keep the farm running efficiently and profitably.
Frequently Asked Question(s)
What are the problems facing a farm manager?
A manager is faced with various problems such as how much fertilizer and irrigation water to use, seed application rates, feeding levels, labour and machinery use, and determination of rates and levels for other inputs.
How can I manage a successful farm?
– Invest Modestly.
– Monitor Carefully.
– Realistic Farm Management.
– Scrutinise Employees.
– Small Steps.
– An Open Mind.
– Ongoing Research
What are the two main types of agriculture?
Currently, agriculture is divided into two different types, including industrialized agriculture and subsistence agriculture.
What are the characteristics of farm management?
The main concern of farm management is the farm as a unit. Farm management deals with the allocation of inputs at the level of an individual firm. The objective of farm management is to maximize returns from the farm as a whole. It is interested in the profitability along with practicability.
What is farm planning?
Farm planning is the sketching, outlining and drawing of the farmstead as well as arrangement of the land for proper usage without the risk of land degradation. It is also the general arrangement of a farm before and after its take off.
Reference(s)
- jliedu.com – Career as a Farm Manager
- careerexplorer.com – What does a farm manager do?
- classnotes.ng – Problems and Functions of Farm Manager
- jobzilla.ng – Farm Manager Job Description
- www.farmmanagement.pro – The Eleven Qualities of a Successful Farm Manager