A fair salary.

[Deerejon]

Interested on your thoughts! What would be a fair salary for someone on a 800ha farm expected to do an average of 40-60hrs a week 50-70 peak times. Weekends as required. No house or vehicle although poole car available if required to pick up parts/bits etc, basic company phone (no e.mail or net access). Roles including all veg and cereal spraying, most veg and cereal land prep, all cereal drilling, backup to veg drilling. Workshop repairs/servicing and organising/ordering all tractor and machinery parts, responsible for all h&s in workshop, make decisions when farm manager away. With following qualifications, 14 years on farm experience, clean full license, pa1-2, tele an counterbalance forklift tickets, ipaf trained ( cherry-pickers/man-platforms) abrasive wheels, welding, iosh health and safety, expired 360 ticket, + various others.

 

[JNP]

£35k

 

[Baling Hay]

40k minimum since no accomodation or vehicle

 

[Thick Farmer]

£20 - 25k. If you're lucky. Not enough in the job to offer you any more.

 

[Deerejon]

Interesting how varied your thoughts are.

 

[Spud]

Interested on your thoughts! What would be a fair salary for someone on a 800ha farm expected to do an average of 40-60hrs a week 50-70 peak times. Weekends as required. No house or vehicle although poole car available if required to pick up parts/bits etc, basic company phone (no e.mail or net access). Roles including all veg and cereal spraying, most veg and cereal land prep, all cereal drilling, backup to veg drilling. Workshop repairs/servicing and organising/ordering all tractor and machinery parts, responsible for all h&s in workshop, make decisions when farm manager away. With following qualifications, 14 years on farm experience, clean full license, pa1-2, tele an counterbalance forklift tickets, ipaf trained ( cherry-pickers/man-platforms) abrasive wheels, welding, iosh health and safety, expired 360 ticket, + various others.

For a start there's no way that's actually possible to achieve, never mind in 60hrs a week, though I'm guessing it could be your actual job? How do you manage to prepare all the land, drill it all and spray it all in a timely fashion? Any responsibilities for other staff? £35k ottomh, though area of country will make a difference.

 

[Spud]

Interesting how varied your thoughts are.

What are you on then? And your idea of a fair salary?

 

[Deerejon]

There are 2 arable members of staff me full time plus a self-employed guy who's going through process of becoming full time employed. Plus a harvest student. Other staff include farm manager, irrigation manager, 2 veg harvest managers/supervisors. Me an other guy do all of the arable an veg land prep an drilling, all major workshop repairs, only started doing the spraying 3 months ago, previously contractor. Combining and carting is contracted. Arable harvest student, responsible for grain stores, rolling, topping, seed/fert cart. I'm on 26k but think 28-30 would be reasonable.

 

[Thick Farmer]

There are 2 arable members of staff me full time plus a self-employed guy who's going through process of becoming full time employed. Plus a harvest student. Other staff include farm manager, irrigation manager, 2 veg harvest managers/supervisors. Me an other guy do all of the arable an veg land prep an drilling, all major workshop repairs, only started doing the spraying 3 months ago, previously contractor. Combining and carting is contracted. Arable harvest student, responsible for grain stores, rolling, topping, seed/fert cart. I'm on 26k but think 28-30 would be reasonable.

£26k sounds good to me. If you're employed you will get 28 days paid holiday and other perks. No stress at harvest time. Sounds like a cushy number, just a bit of cultivation, spraying and repairs.

 

[hindmaist]

The OP gives a very loose indication of the number of hours he puts in each year,so it's very hard to put a figure on what he should expect to earn.

 

[Spud]

The OP gives a very loose indication of the number of hours he puts in each year,so it's very hard to put a figure on what he should expect to earn.

His hours will increase significantly if he's only just started doing the spraying on 2000ac inc veg, that's going to add the thick end of 1000hrs /yr to his total!
What does the irrigation manager do in a wet year/in winter?

 

[Clive]

35k to be worth any more the role would have to involve responsibility for others

26k is not enough for what your doing, especially spraying a good spray driver should be on 30k alone

 

[Hilly]

26k tops, just a job on a farm.

 

[Clive]

26k tops, just a job on a farm.

Sad state of affairs when the same hours in McDonald's would earn you more though hey !

 

[Hilly]

Sad state of affairs when the same hours in McDonald's would earn you more though hey !

Not up here it wouldn't, probably more responsibility in McDonald`s handling cash and dealing with public. £10hr is fair for farmwork imo its above min wage.

 

[T Hectares]

Thick Farmer and Hilly, do you two cheery fellows employ anyone ? You must have a Que of willing workers lining up to work for such optimistic and insightfull chaps.

I would of thought 28 k + house would be a starting point, without knowing owt about you.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Why do you need 4 managers to look after one and a bit staff ? And how much do they earn, do they do any work

 

[Brisel]

Another way of coming at this would be to look at the most recent Ag Wages Order to select a grade. Add a bit for inflation then work out how many hours/week you do in overtime to arrive at a salary guide figure.

I'd put you at around Grade 4 £8.21/hr basic or £320.19/week. Add 21 hours overtime/week to get to an average of 60 hrs/week @ 1.5x = £258.62/week for 48 weeks/year puts a total of around £29k/year.

 

[Salopian_Will]

£30k +

 

[GTB]

Thick Farmer and Hilly, do you two cheery fellows employ anyone ? You must have a Que of willing workers lining up to work for such optimistic and insightfull chaps.

I would of thought 28 k + house would be a starting point, without knowing owt about you.

They probably live in a different world to you lot, same as I do. I live on a fairly big beef and sheep hill farm and I find it mind boggling that farms can make such profit to be able to pay such a wage, leave alone employ a manager etc etc. I only take a small allowance for myself and my two boys work for low wages. We simply couldn't afford to employ anyone else. If they're paying you 26k take it and be grateful you aren't working for yourself or the bank.