jobfacts

Managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture

SOC 2020 1211

Managers and proprietors in this unit group plan, organise and co-ordinate the activities and resources of farming and mixed farming establishments cultivating arable crops, fruits, trees and shrubs, and/or raising cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. Managers and proprietors in horticulture oversee the production of plants for wholesale and/or retail.

Also calledFarm ownerManagerFarm managerDirectorNursery managerLive stock managerand 17 more titles
Typical full-time pay£38,2002025 Provisional
People in the job40,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month181↑ 3.1%on last year · 351st of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture earn, 2025
£38,200 typical£30,700lowest 20%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£30,700
25%£31,500
Median£38,200
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Nearly half (43%) of managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £38,200
South West!£37,900
Yorkshire and The Humber!£32,600
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £38,200
South West£37,900 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£32,600 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £36,000
  • 2024 £35,900
  • 2025 Provisional£38,200
↑ 6% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 181 jobs for managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026Not published
Jul 2026175
Jun 2026193
May 2026156
Apr 2026178
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026166
Jan 2026223
Dec 2025117
Nov 2025204
Oct 2025211
Sept 2025191
Aug 2025173
Jul 2025213
Jun 2025222
May 2025205
Apr 2025203
Mar 2025233
Feb 2025207
Jan 2025182
Dec 2024110
Nov 2024125
Oct 2024137
Sept 2024155
Aug 2024156
Jul 2024215
Jun 2024209
May 2024195
Apr 2024195
Mar 2024193
Feb 2024196
Jan 2024221
Dec 2023192
Nov 2023179
Oct 2023223
Sept 2023154
Aug 2023207
Jul 2023178
Jun 2023269
May 2023249
Apr 2023212
Mar 2023273
Feb 2023292
Jan 2023317
Dec 2022262
Nov 2022283
Oct 2022277
Sept 2022269
Aug 2022255
Jul 2022363
Jun 2022327
May 2022393
Apr 2022339
Mar 2022388
Feb 2022354
Jan 2022347
Dec 2021268
Nov 2021289
Oct 2021290
Sept 2021253
Aug 2021275
Jul 2021317
Jun 2021282
May 2021290
Apr 2021292
Mar 2021422
Feb 2021206
Jan 2021188
Dec 2020206
Nov 2020226
Oct 2020185
Sept 2020164
Aug 2020141
Jul 2020136
Jun 2020146
May 2020152
Apr 2020156
Mar 2020290
Feb 2020254
Jan 2020253
Dec 2019233
Nov 2019259
Oct 2019233
Sept 2019239
Aug 2019207
Jul 2019299
Jun 2019301
May 2019335
Apr 2019192
Mar 2019246
Feb 2019215
Jan 2019237
Dec 2018132
Nov 2018191
Oct 2018240
Sept 2018237
Aug 2018264
Jul 2018232
Jun 2018261
May 2018236
Apr 2018240
Mar 2018241
Feb 2018214
Jan 2018226
Dec 2017149
Nov 2017163
Oct 2017204
Sept 2017166
Aug 2017202
Jul 2017212
Jun 2017257
May 2017245
Apr 2017222
Mar 2017232
Feb 2017196
Jan 2017275
Is there a shortage of managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, hours and earnings due to proportion of self employed workers.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
24%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for other managers and proprietors, which includes managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London98
Manchester15
North Yorkshire12
Somerset11
Herefordshire, County of10
Birmingham9
Bristol, City of8
West Northamptonshire8
East Riding of Yorkshire7
Derbyshire Dales7
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture
11%!
21%!
16%!
24%!
29%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
25–3411% (small sample)
35–4421% (small sample)
45–5416% (small sample)
55–6424% (small sample)
65+29% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent27%
Higher education below degree!11%
A levels or equivalent!23%
GCSEs or equivalent22%
Other qualifications!7.1%
No qualifications!7.3%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent27%
Higher education below degree11% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent23% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent22%
Other qualifications7.1% (small sample)
No qualifications7.3% (small sample)

Main employers: mixed farming (24%), landscape service activities (9.6%), raising of dairy cattle (5%), raising of sheep and goats (4.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
27%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
1
from level 5
Apprenticeships take
3 years
typically
Self-employed
43%
of people in the job

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 5About 3 years

Horticulture and landscaping technical manager

Leads to
Chartered Institute of Horticulture
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
FdSc Horticulture and Applied Plant ScienceHigher technical5

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • determines financial, staffing and other short and long-term needs
  • produces and maintains records of production, finance and breeding
  • decides or advises on the types of crops and/or produce to be grown or livestock raised
  • plans intensity and sequence of farm or horticultural operations and orders seed, fertiliser, equipment and other supplies
  • markets and arranges for the sale of crops, livestock and other farm or horticultural produce

Skills

  • conserve forests
  • manage forests
  • monitor forest health
  • monitor forest productivity
  • organise labour
  • organise tree plantations
  • promote environmental awareness
  • supervise forestry workers
  • write technical reports related to trees
  • advise on timber harvest
  • apply forest legislation
  • communicate with customers
  • coordinate forestry research
  • coordinate timber sales

Knowledge

  • agronomy
  • animal welfare legislation
  • environmental legislation
  • environmental policy
  • forestry regulations
  • health and safety regulations
  • pest control in plants
  • plant disease control

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for other managers and proprietors, a group of 22 jobs that includes managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 43%about 494,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.3 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.