Employers move to retain top farm managers, survey reveals
Farmers Weekly Reporters
Saturday 23 October 2010 08:00
Farm managers are now earning an average of nearly £45,000, according to a new study by the Institute of Agricultural Management.
The organisation, which represents professional farm managers in the UK, conducted a survey of almost 100 managers in its 11th study of their pay and rewards.
While rewards have increased significantly reflecting a growth in the size and complexity of businesses under managers' care, the study also reveals a picture of an ageing profession.
The results also suggests a level of recognition among employers that they recognise the need to retain the best staff.
The average farm manager's gross salary grew by £6050 - just over 14% - in the two years since the last study was published, to £44,655. In addition to this, the vast majority of those questioned received a rent-free house and a vehicle for work purposes - benefits they estimated were worth just under £12,000 a year.
Richard Clarke, chairman of the IAGRM, said the growth in farm managers' remuneration was significantly higher than in other sectors of industry. "This seems to reflect the changing structure of the industry and the level of responsibility now placed on farm managers in terms of land and capital."
The increase in age of respondents - only 23% of managers in the latest survey were under 40 - was less surprising given the age profile of farmers in general. "But it does emphasize the need for new blood in the profession and the opportunities that exist for new entrants and aspiring managers," Mr Clarke said.
The majority of those surveyed were between 40 and 59 years old, with a "significant and continuing rise in managers between 50 and 59", the report said.
The number of acres under farm managers' supervision has grown significantly in the last few years, the study revealed. Now more than a third of respondents were farming more than 3000 acres.
The majority of managers were employed by private individuals or family trusts, and were concentrated in eastern, central and south-eastern England. Although farm management remains a comparatively hands-on profession, few respondents spent more than 25% of their time in any manual work.
More than a third of farm managers held an undergraduate degree while practically all had some form of formal qualification.
"The survey also shows that the industry is demanding an increased standard of professionalism and this confirms the IAGRM's efforts to establish formal recognition for competencies and skills among farm managers," said Mr Clarke.
• Copies of the full report into farm managers' pay and conditions are available from the IAGRM. Email cooksleyandco@btconnect.com or call 01275 843 825