Shepherds' Wages

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
If your wife is not brought in on it you may have long term issues..... keeping animals is a lifestyle as well as a job. Their will be times you work 24 7.

High work load/long hours is not a problem as long as the renumeration is worthwhile. However, if I'd earn more per hour driving a truck for Tesco then I'm gonna have problems...
 
I suppose some questions need to be asked / job factors clarified.

- Is the position single handed - i.e all routine jobs made by you, or are you helping the landowner / flock owner or working as part of a team.

- Do you make day to day and year round managerial decisions?

- Are you on a salary or self employed? If on a salary, what are other the benefits?

- Location.

- Standard of housing, if provided?

- Are you expected to do any other farm work, other than purely run the sheep. I.E in a quiet time, would you have that time off or would other jobs be found.
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
I don't know really, I've never been an employed shepherd. I am surprised it is so much. Vets around here would get a 30 k package with the house, phone and car making up a significant portion of the package (which are of dubious value!)

Doubtful many shepherds will be on 30k and a house unless he was working effectively by himself.

I don't really know, I was trying to justify it compared to dairy and arable wages of what people can earn elsewhere.

If I had 1500 ewes, then a £30k labour bill wouldn't be to bad IMO. I expect the house and truck would be worth another £10k to the shepherd.
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
Here's an interesting question - if you were employed this year. . . . . and paid a set wage, and next year lamb prices went up a good bit, would you expect your wages to increase in relation? Or does your boss just get a good year?

If I was the boss, I'd have it on performance related pay, or shared farming.

But going by your question, would you take a wage cut when prices go down? The employer is taking the risk, so I think he should benefit from a good year.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
Here's an interesting question - if you were employed this year. . . . . and paid a set wage, and next year lamb prices went up a good bit, would you expect your wages to increase in relation? Or does your boss just get a good year?

The boss gets a good year. Just like if the lamb price drops through the floor you don't get a wage reduction.
 
No---unless you are prepared to take a cut in wages when the price drops
Called share farming

In which case - surely the current lamb prices have no bearing on what you can pay your shepherd, as some posts above seem to suggest it should. If you run a business where you produce sheep meat and decide to employ someone, it should be based upon hours, expertise, experience, skill level and responsibilities. . . . regardless of where in the country you are. With an adjustment possibly, for cost of living in the geographical area.

You choose to employ someone, you pay them a fair wage, if your bottom line can't do that . . . . then don't employ someone, do the work yourself, and be better off for it!

Thats what I was getting at!
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
In which case - surely the current lamb prices have no bearing on what you can pay your shepherd, as some posts above seem to suggest it should. If you run a business where you produce sheep meat and decide to employ someone, it should be based upon hours, expertise, experience, skill level and responsibilities. . . . regardless of where in the country you are. With an adjustment possibly, for cost of living in the geographical area.

You choose to employ someone, you pay them a fair wage, if your bottom line can't do that . . . . then don't employ someone, do the work yourself, and be better off for it!

Thats what I was getting at!

I agree, and we wonder why we have no new entrants? Some of the figures quoted on here, must well below minimum wage.
 

quavers

Member
Location
aberdeenshire
Maybe not, but that's not the shepherd's problem is it? That's the difference between being a business owner/share holder and an employee.

Fortunately I'm looking at a possible position up north.
how far north are you thinking of going ? because the weather farther north can be quite a bit colder all year and making lambing tough if you are not used to it
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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