Agricultural contractor

Career path and progression

With experience, you could specialise in offering particular services, like crop management.

You could also work for private companies or co-operatives that offer management services to farms.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

• knowledge of food production methods
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to organise your time and workload
• customer service skills
• excellent verbal communication skills
• the ability to use your initiative
• persistence and determination
• the ability to motivate and manage staff
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Restrictions and Requirements

You'll need to:

• have a Certificate of Competence, if you carry out hazardous tasks using a chainsaw

Driving vehicles like lorries, tractors, harvesters and fork lift trucks can be part of your work. You can find out more about driving specialist vehicles from GOV.UK.

Related subjects

Most relevant

• Biology - Agricultural contractors work directly with crops and animals, so understanding plant biology, animal physiology, and breeding is essential. Knowledge of how crops grow, how diseases spread, and how livestock reproduce helps them carry out tasks like seed planting, crop spraying, and animal husbandry effectively.
• Environmental Science - Agricultural contractors need to understand how farming practices affect the land, water, and local ecosystems. Knowledge of soil health, drainage, fertiliser use, and sustainable land management helps them work in ways that protect the environment while maintaining productivity.
• Engineering - Agricultural contractors operate and service complex machinery like tractors, harvesters, and balers on a daily basis. Understanding mechanical systems, hydraulics, and how engines work helps them maintain equipment, diagnose faults, and keep operations running smoothly.
• Design and Technology - Agricultural contractors use a wide range of tools and machinery, and often need to repair or adapt equipment for specific tasks. Practical skills like working with materials, reading technical diagrams, and problem-solving on site are part of everyday work.
• Mathematics - Agricultural contractors calculate fertiliser and spray application rates, measure field areas, and work out seed quantities for planting. They also need to price jobs, manage budgets, and estimate how long tasks will take across different farms.

Also relevant

• Chemistry - Agricultural contractors apply fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides to crops, so understanding how these chemicals work and interact with soil and plants is important. This knowledge helps them use the right products at the right concentrations for effective and safe results.
• Business - Agricultural contractors often run their own businesses, managing contracts with multiple farms, pricing services, and handling invoices. Understanding how to market services, manage cash flow, and build client relationships is key to running a successful contracting operation.
• Geography - Agricultural contractors work across different landscapes and need to understand how terrain, soil types, weather patterns, and drainage affect farming. This knowledge helps them plan excavation work, manage land effectively, and adapt to varying conditions across different sites.
• Physics - Agricultural contractors work with heavy machinery where understanding forces, mechanics, and fluid dynamics is useful. Knowledge of physics also helps when carrying out drainage and excavation work, where water flow and soil pressure need to be considered.