Farm Manager CV Guide + Tips + Example
A well-written CV is a great place to start if you seek a farm manager job. Not sure where to begin? Don’t worry! Our guide to crafting an effective farm manager CV will help you make the most of your strong leadership and problem-solving skills and your ability to make decisions quickly, so you can get the job.
Start by editing this farm manager CV sample template or browse our library of CV templates to find the best one for you.
Farm manager CV example (text version)
John Parton
Sacramento, CA 94203
555 555 5555
example@example.com
Summary Statement
Experienced agricultural professional with expertise in tasks such as crop management and fertilization, farm equipment maintenance and repair, and field cultivation. Excellent ability to apply agricultural skills to practice and yield excellent results from work. Prior experience farming in various capacities, including dairy farms, vegetable farms and orchard settings. Took on managerial roles in prior positions and supervised progress in agricultural tasks completed by other workers. Successfully doubled yield for crops while managing a farm and oversaw a 40 percent increase in profits from sales.
Core Qualifications
- Environmental policy
- Harvest planning
- Resource utilization
- Equipment management
- Administration
- Crop rotation
- Teamwork
- Organization
Education
- University of California – Davis Davis, CA
Master of Science Sustainable Agriculture - University of California – Davis Davis, CA
Bachelor of Science Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems - Agricultural and ecology track
Work Experience
December 2016 – Current
Gold Leaf Farming – Sacramento, CA
Farming Manager
- Oversee all functions of the farm and delegate tasks to 100 workers in order to ensure daily operations run smoothly.
- Manage pricing and sales of all produce by establishing relationships with clients and proactively pricing competitively, increasing revenue by 35%.
- Resolve problems that arise throughout processes, including harvesting, managing equipment and selling produce to clients.
July 2015 – December 2016
Gotham Greens – Davis, CA
Field Supervisor
- Worked alongside farmhands to plant, harvest and fertilize crops on 2,000 acres while supervising and resolving problems.
- Received directives for farm managers and delegated tasks to farmhands accordingly while ensuring that all tasks were accomplished, increasing 40% of client satisfaction.
- Worked between farmhands and management to communicate and mediate any issues that may arise on either side.
November 2013 – July 2015
Pro Farm Group Inc. – Davis, CA
Senior Farmhand
- Worked in the field performing various agricultural functions in order to cultivate crops and ensure their high quality was maintained.
- Performed specialized tasks such as crop management and fertilization while working in the field.
- Received directives from supervisors and management and carried out tasks such as equipment repair and harvesting accordingly, maintaining productivity by 95%.
Professional Affiliations and Memberships
- California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) – (2022)
- California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association – (2021)
- Agricultural Personnel Management Association (APMA) – (2019)
Certifications and Licenses
- Farm Labor Contractor license – (Updated 2022)
- State of California Business License – (Updated 2021)
- Agribusiness- Sustainable Agriculture Certificate – (2019)
Training
- Sustainable Agricultural Land Management, Coursera – (2022)
- Agriculture, Economics and Nature – (2022)
- Challenges of Agribusiness Management – (2022)
- Transformation of the Global Food System – (2021)
- Dairy Training Program – (2019)
- Field Crops Training Program – (2018)
Profession Relevant Skills
- Exemplary leadership and supervisory skills.
- Proficient in budgeting and sales management.
- Innovative problem-solving abilities.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Skilled in mechanical and physical requirements of work.
- Knowledge of quality control processes and storage and handling techniques.
Languages
- English
Native or Bilingual - Spanish
Professional Working
Hobbies and Interests
I enjoy spending my spare time outside and engaging in activities such as hiking, swimming, biking and jogging. These activities are part of my dedication to physical fitness and wellness, which I take very seriously and which motivates me to volunteer my time, too. Some of the volunteer work I do includes leading group fitness at the YMCA and offering nutrition workshops, too. In addition to this, I enjoy teaching friends and family about the joys of sustainable farming and how easy it is to get started.
5 essentials of a top farm manager CV
Contact details
Create a section at the top of your CV for your contact information. Without it, a potential employer can not reach you to schedule an interview. Display your contact information as follows: Your full name, then your city, state and ZIP code, followed by your phone number and professional email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile and professional website, add those last.
Personal statement
A personal statement, also called a professional summary, is where you introduce yourself to the hiring manager and pitch your best skills and related work experience. Your CV should include job-relevant skills, the number of years you have been in the industry, and one or two of your most notable professional accomplishments. Your personal statement must be compelling and no longer than five short sentences to grab the hiring manager’s attention.
Skills
Every hiring manager wants to know what skills you bring to the table. Create a separate section for your job-relevant skills and display them with bullet points to make them easy to read. Include a mixture of hard and soft skills that range from farm equipment operations to your passion for agriculture, as our farm manager CV example shows. If you are applying for your first job, include transferable skills.
Work history
Whether or not you have work experience as a farm manager, your CV must have a detailed employment history section. List current and previous employers in reverse-chronological order and provide company names, locations and the dates you worked for each. Add three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list. If you don’t have work experience in the field or if this is your first job application, display extracurricular activities, volunteer experience, community service and professional and personal projects — anything that shows you have relevant work experience.
Education
Hiring managers want to see your education credentials, so a farm manager CV must include an education section. Add all the schools you’ve attended after high school if any. Use bullet points and display the name of the school and the year you graduated (omit the year if you graduated more than 10 years ago). List your high school information and any post-high school classes taken if you did not attend college.
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Action words for a stand-out farm manager CV
Action words convey confidence and strengthen CVs because they tell the hiring manager exactly what you did. They pack a punch when combined with numbers.
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a farm manager CV:
- Lead
- Train
- Manage
- Evaluate
- Supervised
- Expedite
- Harvested
- Maintained
- Mentored
- Utilize
- Execute
- Motivated
- Informed
- Oversee
- Advised
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Top skills for a farm manager CV
Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to your abilities and traits.
These might include:
- Farming
- Decision-making
- Delegation
- Attention to detail
- Problem-solving
- Strategic planning
- Prioritization
- Verbal communication
- Harvesting
- Farm equipment operation
- Time management
- Patience
- Irrigation
- Team building
- Troubleshooting
- Livestock management
- Business operations
- Administration
- Compliance
- Strong work ethic
Certifications for a farm manager CV
You aren’t required to be certified for a job as a farm manager, but having one or more certifications can help you stand out from the competition.
A certification from a respected organization demonstrates a level of commitment and proficiency in farm management that non-certified job seekers don’t have.
There are several certification options for farm managers, including:
Pair your CV with a matching cover letter
Farm manager CV FAQ
1. What does a farm manager do?
Farm managers manage the day-to-day operations of agricultural businesses. They oversee crop development, maintenance and harvesting; handle livestock; and use agricultural equipment. They may adjust schedules, train and monitor farm workers, ensure proper veterinary care for farm animals, maintain farm inventory and order supplies. Some farm managers hire, fire and mentor workers.
2. What to include in a CV for a farm manager job?
A farm manager CV must always include five primary sections:
- Contact information
- Personal profile
- Skills
- Job history
- Education
After that, your CV can include any number of sections, including:
- Professional memberships or associations
- Presentations
- Publications
- Certifications and licenses
- Volunteer experience
- Related hobbies and interests
The easiest way to determine what sections to add to your CV and how to fill them out is by reviewing the job description. You must match the job requirements to your qualifications and add them to your CV. If you’re unsure where to start, use the farm manager CV sample on this page for guidance.
3. What’s the best format for a farm manager CV?
A CV for a farm manager job can be in any format that fits the industry, job and your work experience and goals. For instance, if you’re applying for your first farm manager job or are changing careers, it’s best to use a CV format that emphasizes your education or skills. However, if you have a steady career in customer service and have progressed through the ranks, you might want to showcase your work experience.
4. What are some tips for creating a great CV for a farm manager job?
Here are our top tips for crafting a perfect farm manager CV:
- Customize your CV for every farm manager job you apply to.
- Use keywords from the job description that match your qualifications to ensure your resume is applicant tracking system (ATS)-friendly.
- Emphasize extra training, certifications, awards, honors and memberships, like The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA).
- Highlight presentations or speeches in a separate section.
- Showcase volunteer and community service activities that focus on agriculture.
- Create subcategories for your skills under the skills section of your CV. For example, you might want to display your managerial and farming skills separately or your technical and soft skills.
Do’s and don’ts for building a farm manager CV
- Use measurable achievements to describe your farm manager abilities and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your farm manager resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target farm manager job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your farm manager resume.
- Format your farm manager resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your farm manager experience and skills.
- Boast that you’re the “best farm manager ever.”
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience not pertaining to farm management.
- Forget to proofread. A farm manager resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a farm manager interview
Learn about the organization first.
Before the interview, take the time to learn about the farm’s history, goals, values and people. Being able to show that you have in-depth knowledge about your potential employer shows real interest, dedication and commitment, which hiring managers love to see.
Practice makes perfect!
To practice for your interview, start by reviewing some of the most common interview questions, such as:
- What two or three things are most important to you in a job?
- How do you determine priorities?
- What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?
Write down possible answers as you review potential questions, and have a friend or relative practice your interview with you. This way, you can get comfortable with the questions and imprint the answers in your mind. Ask your interview partner to review your answers. You’ll feel confident and ready when it’s time for the real thing.
Have questions ready.
Your interviewer will likely ask if you have any questions at the end of your session. And even if they don’t, it’s best to arrive equipped with questions about the job. Job candidates who ask questions are more likely to get hired than candidates who do not because it shows genuine interest and enthusiasm.
Some questions you might ask for a farm manager job are:
- What are the biggest opportunities available to someone in this position?
- What are the biggest challenges someone in this position might expect?
- How do you evaluate success in this role?
Gather references.
You’ll need professional references quickly if the hiring manager is interested in hiring you. Prepare a list of two former colleagues and a former manager willing to speak to your abilities to perform the farm manager job and who you know will give you a stellar review.
If you are applying for your first full-time job, then ask a former instructor, volunteer coordinator, classmate or community leader who can vouch for your character and skills.
