Farming is what everything else in UK agriculture depends on. The 209,000 farm holdings covering 17 million hectares of UK land produce the food, fibre and raw materials that feed the nation and supply a chain of processors, manufacturers and retailers. Running those farms well takes skilled, experienced people. Finding them has never been harder.
Agricultural Recruitment Specialists (AgriRS) has been placing people across the farming sector for over 13 years. We recruit for farms of all types and sizes, from family enterprises to large corporate operations, connecting candidates at every level to the roles that suit them. Farm managers, herd managers, stockpersons, arable specialists, farm supervisors and rural estate managers: we place them all.
This guide covers the jobs available in UK farming, the challenges businesses face when hiring and how we can help, whether you are looking for staff or looking for work.
In Focus: The UK Farming Sector
Agriculture contributes £14.5 billion to the UK economy and employs around 452,900 people across commercial holdings, according to Defra's Farming Evidence Pack published in October 2025. The workforce is under sustained pressure. The total agricultural workforce in England declined by 2.6% in 2024, with casual workers falling by 7.3%. Farm input costs have increased by an average of 44% since 2019. Fertiliser, fuel, feed and machinery costs are all higher, and the transition away from the Basic Payment Scheme through the Environmental Land Management schemes is forcing farm businesses to rethink their enterprise mix and staffing structures.
The ageing workforce is the long-term structural issue that sits beneath all of this. Over a third of all farm holders in England are aged 65 or older. Salaried farm managers make up only around 4% of the total agricultural workforce: 12,000 people nationally. When a good one retires or moves on, replacing them is not straightforward. The combination of technical knowledge, practical experience, people management capability and commercial judgement that a senior farm manager brings to a business typically takes decades to develop. You can’t advertise your way to that kind of candidate.
At the same time, the nature of farming roles is changing. Precision farming, robotic milking, drone-based crop monitoring and data-driven herd health management are now part of everyday farm operations on progressive businesses. The best candidates are those who combine hands-on farming experience with the technical adaptability to work alongside these systems. That combination is increasingly in demand and consistently in short supply.
Careers in Farming: From the Stockyard to the Estate Office
Farming jobs span every level of seniority and every enterprise type. Here is a snapshot of the roles we place most frequently.
Livestock and Mixed Farming Roles
Farm Manager (Livestock/Mixed/Arable): Full operational leadership of a farm business, covering enterprise management, staff, finances, compliance and strategic direction. Senior managers on large operations typically earn £45,000 to £65,000 or more, often with accommodation.
Assistant Farm Manager: Supporting the Farm Manager across daily operations and enterprise management, with responsibility for specific areas such as livestock health, staff supervision or crop programmes.
Herd Manager (Beef/Dairy/Sheep): Day-to-day leadership of a livestock enterprise, covering animal welfare, health programmes, feeding, breeding and production performance.
Stockperson/Livestock Worker: Hands-on animal husbandry across beef, sheep, pig or dairy enterprises, including feeding, monitoring, calving or lambing support.
Shepherd/Flock Manager: Specialist sheep husbandry role covering flock health, breeding, lambing, scanning and pasture management.
Pig Stockperson/Unit Supervisor: Caring for pigs across breeding, weaner or finishing units, with responsibility for welfare, feed management and performance records.
Poultry Stockperson/Flock Supervisor: Managing broiler, layer or turkey flocks across indoor units, covering welfare, biosecurity, feeding systems and flock performance.
Arable, Estate and Senior Roles
Arable Farm Manager/Arable Unit Manager: Managing a cropping enterprise across planning, agronomy, machinery, labour and financial performance.
Farm Supervisor/Team Leader: Leading a small team of farm workers on a larger operation, overseeing daily schedules, machinery use and work standards.
Rural Estate Manager/Farm Estate Manager: Managing farming, land, property and tenancy operations on a rural estate, often combining commercial farming with conservation and shoot management.
Farm Business Manager/Farm Administrator: Commercial and administrative management of a farming business, covering records, compliance, subsidy applications and financial reporting.
Contract Farm Manager: Managing a farm under a contract farming agreement on behalf of a landowner, with responsibility for all operational and financial performance.
General Farm Worker: Broad practical support across mixed farm operations, including tractor work, livestock care, fencing, irrigation and general maintenance.
The Farming Sector: What We Cover
We recruit across all major farm enterprise types and seniority levels throughout the UK.
Arable and Combinable Crops Farming: Farm managers, arable operatives and machinery specialists on combinable crops, root crop and horticultural arable enterprises.
Beef and Sheep Farming: Herd and flock managers, stockpersons and estate managers across commercial and pedigree beef and sheep operations.
Dairy Farming: Herd managers, dairy farm managers, herdspersons and relief milkers across all herd sizes and systems.
Pig Farming: Unit managers, stockpersons and farm supervisors across breeding, nursery and finishing pig enterprises.
Poultry Farming: Flock supervisors and unit managers on broiler, layer, turkey and free-range poultry operations.
Mixed Farming: Farm managers and supervisors on enterprises combining arable, livestock and often diversified activities.
Rural Estates and Land Management: Estate managers, farm business managers and general managers combining farming with property, conservation and land-based income.
Agricultural Contracting: Operators, supervisors and managers within agricultural contracting businesses providing machinery and labour services to farm clients.
Organic and Regenerative Farming: Farm managers and technical advisers on certified organic, regenerative and nature-friendly farming operations.
Farm Business and Administration: Commercial, compliance and financial management roles within farming businesses of all types and sizes.
For Employers
What to Expect from Farming Recruitment
Farm recruitment is harder than it looks from the outside. Roles that require a specific enterprise background, tied accommodation arrangements, irregular hours and a genuine love of the work draw from a limited pool of candidates. A dairy herd manager who has run 500 cows, managed a team and kept detailed health records is a specific kind of person. There are not many of them and they do not tend to stay unemployed for long. The same applies to experienced farm managers capable of running a large mixed enterprise with full commercial accountability.
Most of our best placements in this sector come from candidates who were not on any job board, were performing well in their current role and were open to the right opportunity at the right time. Building those relationships takes years. We have been doing it since 2012, and our database of farming candidates across the UK reflects the depth of those connections. We will tell you honestly what the market looks like, whether your package is competitive and how long a realistic search will take.
How We Work with Employers
Contingency search: Proactive candidate searches across our network, with targeted advertising where appropriate. No placement, no fee.
Executive search and headhunting: For senior, specialist or hard-to-fill roles where the right candidate needs to be approached directly. 100% success rate since 2012.
Contract and temporary placements: For harvest cover, maternity leave or short-term operational gaps.
Market intelligence: Salary benchmarking, candidate availability and competitor insight to inform your hiring approach.
Candidate profiling: Psychometric and skills assessments to support your final hiring decision.
Whether you are an experienced farm manager ready for a new challenge, a stockperson looking for a better operation, or someone starting out and looking for your first role in farming, we work with businesses across the sector that are actively looking for people like you. Many of the roles we fill are never publicly advertised.
What We Offer Candidates
Free and confidential service: No cost to register, and your details are handled with complete discretion.
Access to unadvertised roles: A significant proportion of the positions we fill never reach a job board.
CV and interview support: Practical guidance to help you present yourself well at every stage.
UK-wide coverage: Vacancies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Career guidance: Whether you know exactly what you want or are still weighing up your options, we will give you an honest view of the market.
3 Quick Wins on Our Site
Get help with your application using our candidate tips.
Our AgriCulture Live podcast features conversations with farmers, farm managers and industry figures shaping the future of UK agriculture. For market commentary, recruitment insight and career guidance, our blog covers the topics that matter most to people working in farming:
If you are a farm business, estate or agricultural employer looking to fill a role, the first step is to tell us about the position and what you need. We will give you a straight view of the candidate market from the start: who is available, what a competitive package looks like and how long a realistic search will take. You can submit a vacancy here.
If you are looking for your next farming role, get in touch with a brief outline of your background and what you are looking for. Email info@agriRS.co.uk or call 01905 345 155. Many of the roles we fill are never publicly advertised, so a conversation with us is usually the fastest way to find out what is actually available.
And don't forget to sign up for job alerts so you are always first to know when the right opportunity comes up.
