How to Hire a Farm Hand [Updated 2025]

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Do you need to hire a farm hand? A farm hand performs a variety of labouring tasks on a farm, supporting farmers in running their agricultural, pastoral or horticultural businesses.

Understanding the steps behind hiring a farm hand, including job seeker data, salary information and key terms to include in your job description, can help you stand out from the competition to effectively attract and hire quality candidates.

In Indeed’s guide to hiring a farm hand, learn how to attract top talent for your open position.

Hire your next Farm Hand today.

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Hire your next Farm Hand today.

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Farm Hand: What is the cost of hiring?

What is a farm hand?

A farm hand, also called a farm worker, undertakes labouring and maintenance tasks on livestock, vegetable, crop or mixed farms, supporting the farmer or working in a team of farm hands.

Farm hands may muster animals, provide livestock with feed and water, clean pens and sheds, inspect livestock, plant crops, irrigate crops, spray plants to prevent diseases and harvest crops.

Farm hands may undertake maintenance, such as repairing fences, and operate machinery, such as driving tractors.

Why hire a farm hand?

A farm hand can perform a range of tasks that can improve farm efficiency.

They can also ensure tasks that have short timeframes or urgent deadlines are completed, such as harvesting crops before forecast rain spoils the crop or herding sheep to be ready for shearing.

Farm hands can also free up farmers and farm managers to conduct other work, such as business planning and learning new farming techniques.

Contributions of a great farm hand:

perform labouring tasks to grow crops and/or care for livestock
undertake maintenance and repairs of farm infrastructure and equipment
support farmers and other farm employees to enhance farm operations.

Defining your hiring needs for a farm hand

A farm hand can be particularly useful in three common farming situations.

One situation is when the physical workload has become too much for a farmer to undertake solo, as a farm hand may perform the more laborious or time-consuming tasks.

Another situation is when the workload has increased, such as when the number of livestock on the property is increased, machinery ages and becomes more prone to breakdown, or crops have grown well in a good season.

Farm hands may also be useful when a farmer wants to focus more time on other activities, such as learning about new farming techniques to maximise yields, by taking care of the day-to-day activities.

What are the types of farm hands?

A farm hand position may be a seasonal role, with workers employed for the harvest period. Farm hand may be a casual role, engaged when the farmer requires assistance on his property. Full-time and part-time positions are also common. Farm hands may specialise in working on a particular farm, such as a dairy cattle farm or a horticulture farm, having gained experience or qualifications for those kinds of operations.

When writing your farm hand job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on farm hand jobs, according to Indeed data:

farm work
visa sponsorship, farm
farm
farm hand
farm work with accommodation
farm, fruit picking
labourer
Germany visa sponsorship, farm
visa sponsorship, agriculture
farm work, backpackers 88 days.

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Where to find a farm hand?

To find the right farm hand for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

Canvas your networks: Other farmers or people in your community may know of suitable candidates who are looking for farm hand work.
Approach training providers: Vocational education and training providers that offer agricultural qualifications may have students who are seeking practical experience on a farm.
Approach schools in your area: If you have seasonal, weekend and/or after-school work opportunities, advise teachers who may be able to offer the job to students interested in pursuing farming careers.
Engage a labour hire company: Many labour hire companies have talent pools from which you can draw suitable farm hands.
Post your job online: Try posting your farm hand job on Indeed to find and attract quality candidates.

Skills to look for in a farm hand

A successful farm hand candidate will typically have the following skills and competencies, which may be gained through a variety of experiences, training or education:

reliable and punctual
enthusiasm for farm work and a strong work ethic
ability to work in a team as well as independently
basic knowledge of livestock or crops
a willingness to learn
the licences required to operate your machinery.

Writing a farm hand job description

Now that you know the key skills, salary expectations, popular job seeker search terms and hiring insights for a farm hand, you’re ready to write a job description.

A farm hand job description typically includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position. You may also want to include information about your company culture, benefits and perks to attract candidates to your vacant role.

Ready to get started? See our full guide for writing farm hand job descriptions.

Interviewing farm hand candidates

Strong candidates for farm hand positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

interest and prior experience in farm work
knowledge of livestock and/or crop varieties
ability and experience in working in a team
capability to complete physical tasks, including working outside in all weather conditions and being punctual for early morning shifts
the qualifications and licences they hold to undertake farm work and operate machinery.

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of farm hand interview questions for examples (with sample answers).

FAQs about how to hire a farm hand

No, a farm hand does not have to hold a qualification, nor do they need to have prior experience working on a farm. While you may consider previous training and experience an asset, as it can show the candidate is prepared for the type of work they will undertake, it is not essential. You may find an enthusiastic attitude and a willingness to learn are more beneficial traits, as you can train the applicant in the technical skills that you require. If formal qualifications are important to you, but good candidates do not already hold them, consider offering a traineeship, through which the successful candidate learns key skills at a training provider in addition to working on your farm.

When two candidates appear equally qualified for your role in terms of previous training and experience, you may want to analyse whether they will make a good cultural fit for your organisation. Even if you have already conducted an interview, you may want to complete a second interview to cover further questions. For example, you may ask them about their career goals to determine if you share values around progression and training. Contacting their referees can also reveal if their enthusiasm and attitude towards the work will align with those you and other workers on your farm hold. You may also offer a paid work trial, such as one week, to both candidates to gain first-hand experience of how they fit in on your farm.

Consider the type of work that you need completed when looking to hire. Engaging contractors or workers qualified to undertake specific tasks may be more beneficial. For example, if you predominantly require someone to conduct machinery repair and maintenance, you may want to consider a mechanic who is qualified to perform this kind of work. If you feel you need to spend more time researching new techniques or growth opportunities, you may want to engage a business or farming consultant for this task while you continue undertaking the everyday farm work. If unsure about whether a farm hand will be a useful addition to your farm, you can also hire one on a short-term or casual contract and reassess suitability after a few months.