Strong growth in farm salaries - report

The 2024 Federated Farmers-Rabobank Farming Salaries Report, released today, shows that since the last report in 2022, the average salary for a farm worker has increased by $7,480 to $71,411 and the weighted average annual salary across the 13 surveyed on-farm position categories has grown by 13%.

“For some more senior roles, the increases have been significantly higher,” Federated Farmers national board member and employment spokesperson Richard McIntyre says.

For example, the average salary for a dairy herd manager is up 19% to $74,185. A sheep/beef farm manager is earning an average 22% more than two years ago ($88,381) and the average income for an arable farm manager is up 28% to $101,264.

McIntyre says the increases are impressive, especially considering all the headwinds farmers have contended with over the past two years which have included Covid, severe weather events, production-suffocating red tape, inflation and roller-coaster commodity prices.

“And these upwards salary movements underline that careers in agriculture are not only satisfying, but also pay-competitive,” he says.

This 2024 report is the 14th Farming Salaries report that Federated Farmers and Rabobank have produced. The report collates the results from a remuneration survey conducted by independent firm Research First in early 2024, and the findings cover data collected from 529 farm employers relating to nearly 1800 employees.

The report shows that between 2022 and 2024, weighted average salaries rose by 11 per cent for dairy sector roles, by 17 per cent for sheep and beef roles, and by 14 per cent for arable roles.

McIntyre said the report also highlights strong growth in Total Package Values (TPV) for farm employees.

"The salary figures do not include the range of other benefits provided to farm employees, which can include things like vehicle usage, meat, firewood, phone and power allowances,” he says.