A Sexer for Poultry works in a hatchery where eggs are incubated and hatched to produce young birds such as chickens or ducklings. Males need to be separated from females, so first the gender of the birds must be identified. This requires close examination by a Sexer.

If the young birds have been bred and hatched to produce eggs for the food chain as mature ‘layers’, only the female birds will be required.

Birds bred for meat will also sometimes be sexed depending on individual company requirements.

To determine the sex of the young birds, care needs to be taken in the catching, handling, examination and movement, to ensure that birds are not stressed or harmed.

Working Conditions 

Sexers will generally work as least 39 hours per week, but may need to work paid overtime during busy periods.

Most sexing takes place in the early morning. There are also opportunities for part-time and casual work.

Most Sexers would work inside where young birds are hatched and cared for in warm, monitored conditions.

Next steps

Sexing is a very specialist role which takes a lot of training to become skilled at.  Most Sexers do this as a profession – some could progress to a Senior Sexer responsible for a team.

Due to the size and structure of the poultry industry there are many opportunities to progress and move between farms and companies.

The British Poultry Training Initiative keeps a record of all the training you have completed, similar to a CV, called the Poultry Passport. This can be accessed and updated as you progress through the industry and between poultry industry employers.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

A Pig Technician will have skills in carrying out specialist services on the pig farm. These may include applying treatments and vaccinations, detecting and identifying pigs on heat, artificial insemination of sows and gilts (female pigs) or putting female pigs to the boar, and pregnancy diagnosis through scanning.

Working Conditions 

A Pig Technician generally would work as least 39 hours per week but may need to work overtime during busy periods.

The working conditions will depend on the farm. Some pigs are kept indoors all year, whereas other farms with drier land and soil keep their pigs outdoors in fields.

Some Farmers may do a mixture of both production systems depending on their soil conditions, farm location, and the breed and ages of pigs they keep.

Next steps

With the right qualifications and further experience, a Pig Technician can gain promotion to a Stockman, Section Head or Assistant Unit Manager. All agricultural workers need to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in their sector.

For those wishing to progress into farm management, a degree course in subjects such as agriculture or farm management may also be an option.

There may also be options to work abroad.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

A Herdsperson is responsible for the livestock on a farm, making sure they are fed, watered and looked after to meet health and welfare requirements as well as growth targets. This may also include some responsibility for staff.

A livestock farm may have a range of animals at different ages. Some farms keep and rear their own replacement animals for those which have reached the end of their production period, while others buy animals in. 

On some farms, animals are reared for meat. They are fed specific diets to enable them to grow until they reach the correct weight and fatness, and are then sold through livestock markets and abattoirs.

Farmers take pride in producing a quality animal to high welfare standards to go into the food chain and a good Herdsperson is key to achieving this by:

• Feeding correct diet rations
• Monitoring health and condition and reporting any problems
• Weighing the animals to monitor performance
• Moving them to different fields and buildings
• Ensuring animals are tagged and identified correctly.

Working Conditions 

A Herdsperson generally works at least 39 hours per week but may need to do paid overtime during busy periods. Early mornings, evenings and weekend work can be necessary, for example during the calving or lambing season to ensure help is at hand with any difficulties during birth.

The working conditions will depend on the farm. Some livestock are kept indoors and fed on silage, straw, or hay with grain, while other farms leave the livestock to graze on grass outside for most of the year, bringing them in for the winter months.

Many farmers do a mixture of both production systems depending on their grass growth, soil conditions, location and cattle breeds. A Herdsperson would be expected to work both outside and in livestock buildings.

Next steps

With the right qualifications and experience, a Herdsperson can gain promotion to a Unit Manager on a large farm, or expand their skills to work across a range of businesses on the farm as a General Farm Manager.

For those wishing to progress into farm management, a degree in subjects such as agriculture and animal or farm management may be an option.

There may also be options to work abroad.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

General Farm workers are employed to carry out work on arable and livestock farms. What they do varies from season to season and involves planting, tending and harvesting a range of crops, looking after livestock and milking.

General Farm Workers carry out a wide range of tasks such as:

• Driving small vehicles to collect or deliver materials and livestock
• Looking after hedges and areas of woodland
• Maintaining vehicles and machinery
• Maintaining the health and welfare of livestock
• Milking dairy cows
• Cleaning maintaining and repairing buildings
• Using tractors for ploughing, drilling seeds, spreading fertiliser and spraying crops
• Using other machinery, such as combine harvesters and balers.

They work under the supervision of the Farm Owner, Manager or a Supervisor or even a Land Owner who owns or rents the land. General Farm workers may also supervise casual staff.

Working Conditions 

General Farm Workers generally work as least 39 hours per week, but may need to do overtime during busy periods such drilling, harvesting, lambing or calving. There are also opportunities for part-time and casual work.

Farming is seasonal and some times of the year are busier than others. Most jobs involve working outdoors in all weather conditions.

Career options

With the right qualifications and experience, General Farm Workers can gain promotion to Supervisor or Unit Manager on a large farm. There is competition for these vacancies, and movement from farm to farm to gain experience and promotion is usual.

Working on a larger farm offers more opportunities to specialise, where there may be opportunities to complete specialist training and become part of a Continual Professional Development (CPD) scheme.

For those wishing to progress into farm management a degree course in subjects such as agriculture or farm management may be an option.

There may also be options to work abroad.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

A Fieldsperson usually works for an organisation that owns pigs across different farm sites, which are being contract managed by other farmers. They support the farmers in managing the pigs to a high standard.

Their main objective is to optimise all aspects of pig performance, both physical and financial, using sound management practices.

A Fieldsperson does not take part in the physical day-to-day running of the individual farm, but advises by visiting the farm, checking the pigs and production systems and meeting with the Farm Unit Manager.

Tasks include:

• Building and developing relationships with Farmers and Unit Managers to ensure best husbandry practice, high welfare standards and production efficiency
• Visiting farms on a regular basis to monitor all aspects of pig husbandry and performance including cleanliness, feed utilisation, pig health, housing, security, and welfare
• Assisting with selection of pigs for slaughter and arrange transport
• Assisting with feed ordering and product forecast reports as required
• Assisting with pig performance trials on farm
• Ensuring welfare code and quality assurance requirements are always met
• Monitoring and recording production performance and statistics as required.

Working Conditions 

A Fieldsperson generally work at least 39 hours per week but may need to work paid overtime during busy periods. Early mornings, evenings and weekend work can be necessary.

The working conditions will depend on the farm. Some pigs are kept indoors all year, whereas other farms with drier land and soil keep their pigs outdoors in fields.

Some Farmers may do a mixture of both production systems depending on their soil conditions, farm location, the breed and ages of pigs they keep.

On an indoor pig farm, a Fieldsperson would expect to work mainly inside specialist pig buildings, whereas outdoor pig farms would require working outside in all weathers.

Next steps

With experience, a Fieldsperson can move into more senior positions, become an industry leader in their technical specialism and move into management roles leading team of consultants. This may involve more office-based work and less time travelling to farms and other outlets.

With the appropriate qualifications there may also be opportunities to teach at university or college.

Since land-based industries are worldwide, there are opportunities for working abroad.

For those wishing to progress into farm management, a degree course in subjects such as agriculture or farm management may also be an option.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

Farm Secretaries look after the smooth running of the business side of a farm or estate and deal with record-keeping and correspondence involved with modern farming and rural businesses.

The job means working closely with farmers, farm and estate managers to ensure that all the regular tasks are completed efficiently and on time, in addition to more complex tasks such as completing legislative and management records.

Their main duties include:

• Keeping records of livestock and crops to help with future planning and stock levels
• Completing forms for government grants and subsidies
• Preparing farm accounts and budgets
• Dealing with VAT and tax returns
• Completing legislative and management records
• Calculating employees' pay and keeping employment records
• Arranging quotations for buying, hiring and maintaining farm machinery and equipment
• General administration duties including telephone work, writing letters and emails and maintaining manual and computer filing systems.

A Farm Secretary spends a great deal of time on budgets, accounting and other financial aspects of the work. Although some systems may be manual, the majority of work is computer based, including detailed use of spreadsheets, databases and tailor-made agricultural business software packages.

Working Conditions 

Farm Secretaries usually work around 35 hours a week during the daytime, although evening or weekend work is sometimes necessary depending on the farming activities during the year. Farm Secretaries may be employed on one or more farms or estates, and may travel between different offices.

There are full-time, part-time and self-employed jobs available.

Most of the work is office-based and involves a lot of sitting down, doing desk work or at the computer. Farm and estate offices are in rural areas, some of them in quite remote locations. A driving licence and own transport is usually necessary.

Next steps

Some Farm Secretaries become self-employed when they have enough experience to offer their specific skills to different farms and estates. Their progress and success relies on providing a consistently high quality of service and administration to their clients.

The all-round knowledge and experience gained as a Farm Secretary can be very useful in moving into administrative or management jobs in other agriculture business or rural industries.

Industry links

Association of Accounting Technicians

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

Institute of Agricultural Secretaries and Administrators

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

Farm Managers produce crops, plan strategies for maximum yield, organise farm administration, work machinery, organise associated businesses and manage staff. In mixed farms they may also tend animals. They need to have technical and practical competence coupled with the ability to make sound business decisions.

Farm Managers either run their own business or are employed to run a farm efficiently and profitably for someone else.

What farmers do varies with local climate, soil and accessibility of markets for their produce. Farms can be:  

• Arable. This involves growing crops for human and animal consumption, such as cereals (wheat, barley, maize and oats), potatoes, sugar beet, fruit and vegetables, as well as non-food crops for energy or pharmaceuticals. Farm Managers also deal with harvesting, storing and processing crops, which may involve using mechanised and computer-controlled equipment
• Mixed. A combination of livestock and arable farming.

Farm Managers work closely with the Farm Owner, and possibly other Farm Managers and Farm Management Consultants.

Increasingly, farmers are carrying out ‘Precision Farming' using new technology, such as global positioning (GPS), sensors, satellites or aerial images, and information management tools to assess and understand better what they’re doing. 

This information may be used to decide on the best seed sowing density, fertilisers and other input needs, and to more accurately predict crop yields.

Farmers work within regulations set by Government, and many are members of farm assurance schemes that set standards for safe, high quality produce farmed in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The day-to-day work of a Farm Manager may include:

• Planning - setting production targets, recruiting, managing and mentoring staff, buying materials needed for the farm and maintaining health and safety on the farm
• Record keeping - managing the farm's budget, cash flow and communicating with organisations that make payments to farmers that comply with strict environmental and production standards
• Legislation - ensuring the farm is operating within the legal guidelines set by public bodies
• Environmental considerations - managing the environmental impact of their farm on the local area. This can range from ensuring rivers are not polluted by farm products to protecting soils and certain features in the countryside e.g. trees and hedges, particularly if the farm is situated in a site of special scientific interest
• Continually monitoring the quality and performance of their produce, both arable and livestock (if they have any)
• Monitoring the health and welfare of their animals (if they have any)
• Marketing and selling produce - negotiating with buyers such as supermarket chains, food processors or local supply chains
• Practical work - on smaller farms, farm managers may be involved with general tasks such as feeding livestock, driving tractors and operating and repairing machinery
• Many farmers have diversified their activities to supplement their income, for example by running a bed and breakfast or a farm shop.

Working Conditions 

Most Farm Managers are contracted to work 39 hours a week. However, in practice, many work longer hours. The nature of this job means that farmers may be on call day and night, seven days a week.

There are often no set hours and certain times of the year are particularly busy. The hours worked are influenced by the particular season such as harvest time. Days worked during these seasons can be typically long.

Practical work on the farm is usually outdoors, in all weather conditions. Farm Managers also spend time in an office dealing with paperwork. On a smaller farm the manager will get involved in many of the farming tasks, while on a larger farm the manager is likely to spend most of their time in a farm office.

Next steps

A Farm Manager may progress to being responsible for overseeing the work of several farms. 

They may also work as a consultant or civil servant making policy with Government departments.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

Farm Managers run their own agriculture business or are employed by other people to run a farm efficiently and profitably.

The day-to-day work of a Farm Manager may include:

• Planning - setting production targets, recruiting, managing and mentoring staff, buying materials needed for the farm, such as animal feed seed, fertilisers, and maintaining health and safety on the farm
• Record keeping - managing the farm's budget, cash flow and communicating with organisations that make payments to farmers that comply with strict environmental and production standards
• Legislation - ensuring the farm is operating within the legal guidelines
• Environmental considerations - managing the environmental impact of their farm on the local area. This can range from ensuring rivers are not polluted by farm products to protecting soils and certain features in the countryside e.g. trees and hedges, particularly if the farm is situated in a site of special scientific interest
• Continually monitoring the quality and performance of their produce
• Monitoring the health and welfare of their animals
• Marketing and selling produce - negotiating with buyers such as supermarket chains, food processors or local supply chains
• Practical work - on smaller farms, Farm Managers may be involved with general tasks such as feeding livestock, driving tractors and operating and repairing machinery
• Many farmers have diversified their activities to supplement their income, for example by running a bed and breakfast or a farm shop. 

Farm Managers work closely with the Farm Owner and possibly other Farm Managers and Farm Management Consultants.

Working Conditions 

Most Farm Managers are contracted to work standard full-time hours. However, in practice many Farm Managers work longer hours. The nature of the job means that farmers may be on call day and night, seven days a week, especially where livestock are concerned and during busy periods.

Practical work on the farm is mainly outdoors in all weather conditions although some of the work may be indoors. Farm Managers also spend time in an office dealing with paperwork.

On a smaller farm, the Manager will get involved in many of the farming tasks, while on a larger farm the Manager is likely to spend more time running the business.

A driving licence is usually essential.

Next steps

Large farms offer promotion possibilities and there may be opportunities to specialise.  Experienced Farm Managers may move into other work, such as technical sales, consultancy and teaching, or work as an agricultural adviser.

Some successful Farm Managers may be responsible for overseeing the work of several farms, all specialising in different aspects of farming.

It may also be possible to work with private companies, consultancies, co-operatives and on contract with supermarkets that offer farm management services.

There may be opportunities to work abroad.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

The role of a Farm Director is only likely to be found on a large farming company or estate. On smaller farms, the Farmer or Farm Owner will often also carry out tasks similar to a Director.

As a Farm Director, the key focus is to work with the Farm Manager to oversee all farm management activities to ensure effective implementation of farm management and production plans. Directors have many business responsibilities for ensuring the success of their company, in areas such as health and safety, employment law and tax.

Shareholders own limited companies but they don't run them - that job is given to a Farm Director. All limited companies must have at least one Director. A public limited company (or plc) must have at least two Directors. Some farms will be limited companies and others private partnerships or sole traders. The level of responsibility of a Director will depend on the business status.

A Farm Director’s key responsibilities will include:

• Planning activities
• Managing activities
• Financial management
• Human Resources management
• Programmatic effectiveness
• Public and community relations.

Whether a limited company or public limited company, Farm Directors have a responsibility to prepare and deliver documents on behalf of the company to Companies House (The official UK government register of UK companies) as and when required by the Companies Act. These include, in particular:

• The annual return to Companies House
• File the annual accounts to Companies House
• Notification of any change in the company's officers or in their personal details to Companies House
• Notification of a change to the company's registered office to Companies House
• Allotment of shares
• Registration of charges.

Working Conditions 

Most Farm Directors will be expected to work standard full-time hours. However, in practice many may work longer hours. Farm Directors are likely to spend time in an office dealing with paperwork and communications.

On a smaller farm, the Director may get involved in some of the farming tasks, and their management.

A driving licence is usually essential.

Next steps

Farm Directors will gain further experience over the years and could progress to being a Director of a larger company.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs

An Egg Collector in the poultry industry collects eggs laid by birds. These are mainly laying hens which are especially reared for this purpose, but ducks, geese and turkeys may also lay eggs for the food chain.

Egg producing birds are known as ‘layers’ and can continue laying from 20 until 70 weeks of age. Poultry producers usually purchase their layers or birds from other breeder farms.

There are various systems of keeping laying hens. Some will be kept in enriched cages, which provide more space and include a nest, litter, perch and clawing boards, others are kept free range in barns or free range systems in field paddocks where they can roam and behave naturally.

Birds producing hatching eggs are generally kept in controlled environment open housing.

It is the role of an egg collector to find and collect eggs according to the farming system. Eggs may be sold directly into the food chain, or hatched to produce young birds.

Working Conditions 

Egg Collectors generally work as least 39 hours per week, but this may be in the form of shifts.

Early mornings, evenings and weekend work are all common. There are also options for part-time and casual work.

Next steps

With further training and experience, an Egg Collector could gain promotion to a Stockperson, or an Assistant Farm Manager.

Due to the size and structure of the poultry industry there are many opportunities to progress and move between farms and companies.

The British Poultry Training Initiative keeps a record of all the training you have completed, similar to a CV, called the Poultry Passport. This can be accessed and updated as you progress through the industry and between poultry industry employers.

Industry links

British Institute of Agricultural Consultants

My world of work

National Farmers Union Scotland

Scotland’s Farm Advisory Service

Scottish Crofting Federation

Scottish Machinery Rings

Scottish Tenant Farmers Association

Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs