Pay for farm jobs on the rise
Former sports trainer Tim Wilson had always harboured dreams of working on a farm, and last year changed career to do just that.
Wilson was motived by the lifestyle and the potential earnings that farming offered, he said.
He took a $20,000 pay cut to start as a farm assistant, but said he knew long term his earning potential was much higher. He is now beginning his first year training in herd management on a farm near Te Puke, close to Tauranga.
A recent joint report from Federated Farmers and Rabobank said growth in farmer pay has been strong over the past two years.
It showed that between 2017/18 and 2019/20 salary plus benefits had increased ‘‘significantly’’ for farm workers across all farming sectors. Benefits included accommodation, meat and firewood.
Wilson said farm assistant jobs paid between $50,000 and $60,000 depending on the size of the farm, and included accommodation.
Eventually he wanted to become a farm manager or sharemilker, he said.
‘‘We were really surprised how much money you could earn, just as a manager, not even owning a farm.’’
Contract milking could bring in $80,000 to $100,000 on a small farm, and farm manager roles could pay over $100,000 on big farms (with more than 1000 cows), he said.
Wilson had worked with athletes and rugby teams and was already earning $75,000 in his field. But the sports industry didn’t offer much security, he said.
‘‘I was in a pretty good job, but if that job disappeared I wouldn’t be able to just get another job like that.’’
Instead, he would have to find several part-time jobs to make the equivalent money.
The security that came with farming was appealing.
‘‘If you lost a job there would be another one there,’’ he said.
The Federated Farmers remuneration report was based on survey responses from employers, related to about 3000 existing farm jobs.
The average dairy farming pay package had risen nearly 10 per cent to $57,000, and across sheep and beef farm jobs it had risen 7.6 per cent to $55,000. For grain farm jobs, pay was up 3 per cent to $59,000.
Pay for other non-specified jobs, such as a general hand on a dairy farm, had risen by 16 per cent to $61,000.
Federated Farmers president Katie Milne said a career in farming offered ‘‘very good’’ job security, and competitive pay packages.
‘‘Those who have the right attitude and show leadership potential can find a satisfying career pathway in front of them,’’ she said.
‘‘For example, in the last two years, the mean total remuneration package for a dairy assistant manager has jumped $10,643 (20.6 per cent) to $62,317, while the mean package for a dairy operations manager is now up by $1658 (1.96 per cent) to $85,986.’’
The mean total remuneration for a head shepherd was now $60,091, up by 8 per cent, and for a senior tractor or machinery driver on a grain farm, $65,269, up by nearly 5 per cent.
The report was intended as a guide for farmers of market rates, Milne said. ‘‘This is particularly important at a time when farmers are looking to attract new staff and retain existing staff.’’
The survey also indicated that there was a high degree of job satisfaction among farm workers, with 90 per cent saying they were very satisfied or extremely satisfied.
People working in grain, sheep and beef farming had an average income of $48,670 for the financial year ending March 2019, data from Stats NZ showed. Those in dairy farming had an average income of $53,730.
Wilson and his wife had their first baby last month, and said a rural lifestyle had been another big motivator for going farming.
He was happy his boss had supported him with training for things like farm machinery, animal husbandry and yearly farm planning, as well as learning skills on the job.
‘‘Coming from another industry where you have to look for that stuff yourself, I found it pretty awesome coming into farming.’’
But Milne said this was an area where farmers hoping to attract staff could differentiate themselves, as over half of farmers surveyed said they did not provide any formal training to their staff.