Farm Labor Contractors
Recruit and hire seasonal or temporary agricultural laborers. May transport, house, and provide meals for workers.
Also called: Farm Contractor, Farm Sanitation Employee, Field Contractor, Field Crop Harvest Contractor, Harvest Contractor, Harvesting Contractor
Median pay
$58,460
per year, U.S.
Pay range (10th–90th)
$30,930 – $84,050
People employed
310
Holland code
ERC
Enterprising · Realistic · Conventional
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Is this career right for you?
These are the things that stand out in this job compared with other U.S. jobs (O*NET 31.0 work context). Answer honestly.
- 1.Are you OK with hours that change?
- 2.Do you want to lead or coordinate other people’s work?
- 3.Are you happy talking and working with people most of the day?
- 4.Are you OK repeating the same tasks most of the day?
- 5.Are you OK working outdoors in all kinds of weather?
- 6.Are you OK working more than 40 hours a week?
The hard parts
- Work outdoors in all weather
- Long hours on your feet
- Tight deadlines are common
Farm Labor Contractors pay by state
Annual median pay by state (3 states with published data). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025.
What farm labor contractors do
- 01Pay wages of contracted farm laborers.
- 02Provide food, drinking water, and field sanitation facilities to contracted workers.
- 03Recruit and hire agricultural workers.
- 04Supervise the work of contracted employees.
- 05Employ foremen to deal directly with workers when recruiting, hiring, instructing, assigning tasks, and enforcing work rules.
- 06Furnish tools for employee use.
Skills that matter most
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
Knowledge
- Administration and Management
- Administrative
- Food Production
- Production and Processing
- Economics and Accounting
Work styles that stand out
- Dependability
- Leadership Orientation
Education and first steps
O*NET has no education survey data for this job.
How people get started
- Usually needs a high school diploma (O*NET Job Zone 2).
- Related work experience: over 1 year, up to and including 2 years.
- On-the-job training: anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month.
Most common answers from O*NET 31.0 Education, Training and Experience.
Interest fit (Holland code)
O*NET occupational interest scores, scale 1–7. Take the Free Career Test to compare with your own.
Career changes
Change from farm labor contractors
- First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers76% · +1%
- First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers74% · 0%
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors72% · 0%
- Food Service Managers72% · +19%
- First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers71% · −16%
Change into farm labor contractors
Jobs whose skills carry over best (skill match, their median pay).
- Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors72% · $58,170
- Chefs and Head Cooks72% · $62,470
- Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria70% · $37,450
- First-Line Supervisors of Security Workers70% · $55,940
- First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers69% · $44,080