Farm Worker Resume Example & Writing Guide

Working on a farm can be physically demanding but rewarding work. Depending on the type of farm, your work responsibilities will vary from one job to the next. You also experience seasonal changes and weather conditions that may alter your schedule. That variety can make your work more interesting, but it also means that you need many different skills.

You’re ready to sow the seeds for a new challenge and Resume.io is here to help!

Resume guide for a farm worker resume

We offer an online resume builder, expertly-designed resume examples (covering over 500 professions) and this guide, which will cover the following topics:

• How to write a farm worker resume
• Choosing the right resume format for a farm worker
• How to add your contact information
• Using summaries
• Adding your farming experience
• Listing your education and certifications
• Picking the right resume design/layout
• What the farm worker job market looks like and what salary you can expect

In just about 15 minutes, you will have all the tools you need to create a winning farm worker resume. Read on for a discussion of all the useful tips and rules.

How to write a farm worker resume

Before you begin writing your farm worker resume, you need to know the sections it contains. Your resume should have the following elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

A resume is the way you’ll showcase your skills and expertise to the hiring manager, so you should come prepared to convey your unique value. Start by collecting as much information as you can about the employer themselves, so you can better display how you can meet their needs and solve their challenges. 

Your best bet is to stick to this winning formula:

• Highlight accomplishments, not just day-to-day responsibilities. Anyone can provide a list of tasks they were assigned, but not everyone has made the impacts and contributions that you have.
• Tailor your resume every time you apply somewhere new. Adjust your style and tone to that of the organization.
• Covey professionalism and poise with a polished resume template and nice layout.
• Optimize your resume with relevant keywords to entice the reader, whether that’s an individual or ATS screening software.

Choosing the right resume format for a farm worker

If you began your career as a farm worker and have continued to work in the field, your best choice is the reverse chronological resume format. In this format, your employment history section is organized from your most recent experience in reverse chronological order through the prior 10-15 years.

We highly recommend sticking with this format because recruiters and hiring managers like it best (it makes it easy for them to find the information they seek). However, if you had a previous career or are just entering the field, you may consider a functional format that focuses on skills rather than past positions. A hybrid format combines both functional and reverse chronological. 

Our resume builder offers plenty of resume templates to choose from, so select whichever best suits your situation. There are also multiple versions of every format available as resume examples.

While farm workers don’t need to be graphic design pros, you do need a clean and attractive farm worker resume. Consider a professional, modern layout to get you started. 

Include your contact information

Just like farmers need to know unique instructions for the growth of each type of crop, a hiring manager needs the details about how to contact you — that’s where your resume header comes in.  

The header is simply the top part of your resume where you display your contact information and name in a professional manner. Things you’ll want to include are:

• Full name & title. List your first and last name as well as the title of the role you are pursuing.
• Professional email address. Use a clean format like [email protected]. Don’t use a quirky or unprofessional email address.
• Phone number. List a number where you can be readily contacted; it needs a professional voicemail greeting, and a voicemail box with room for new messages.
• Location. Add only your city and state, not your full street address or zip code — that’s both outdated and unsafe. Note 'Willing to Relocate' here if applicable.
• LinkedIn. Although LinkedIn isn’t overly common among farmers, if you have an active LinkedIn profile, you can include it here. Leave off other social media profiles, however.

Don’t include:

• Date of birth: Not necessary and could potentially lead to age discrimination.
• Personal details: Marital status, social security number, passport number, etc.

Make use of a summary

Your profile section is a professional summary, but it is also your chance to tout your career achievements and inject some personality into your resume. Choose one or two highlights of your work experience, improvements that you made and their results, or an efficiency you added. Then, describe your philosophy of animal care, plant tending/harvesting, and your style of relating to other farm laborers and your supervisor. 

If you love working with farm animals, this is where that experience goes. If, however, your talents lie with your safe operation of heavy equipment, focus on that. Because farming skills range everywhere from forklift operation to animal husbandry, highlight expertise you have in specific areas as well as general farm skills. 

The resume summary or profile section should be no more than 2-4 sentences and should be full of action verbs and quantifiable metrics where possible. Don’t just reiterate what exists elsewhere on your resume instead, use this space to really present the image you want the hiring team to see. 

Need inspiration for your summary? Check resumes in adjacent fields:

• Landscaping resume example
• General laborer resume example
• Veterinary assistant resume example

You can find adaptable farm worker resume examples summaries below:

Outline your farm work experience: a successful harvest

Your employment history section will list all your job titles and former employers, but your descriptions should be more than a listing of responsibilities. Like your profile, you should frame each bullet item as a job success. For example, if you worked on a dairy farm and helped increase milk production, tell the story of how you did it and offer data. If you are adept at repairing farm buildings or equipment, give an example of what you’ve accomplished.

Build on each farm position to show you learned and grew. There’s no need to repeat that you harvested crops for every job.Then, move on to other achievements. Thoroughly examine the job listing and use each bullet point to show that you have done the work. 

List only your professional experience, not personal anecdotes, unless you grew up working on a farm or have farming-related volunteer experience. Of course, if you’ve held jobs with transferable skills—such as maintaining mechanical equipment or working with animals—include those too. Use strong action words that show you are a go-getter.

Showcase tangible outcomes instead of simply listing job duties. For instance, a basic farm worker resume may include statements like these:

• "Cultivated crops.”
• "Operated heavy machinery.”
• "Took care of livestock.”

While these are certainly in line with what a farm worker might do, they apply to any farm worker, not you and your specific talents. 

Instead, transform these vague statements into something much more compelling by using data to describe the way you impacted previous companies. For example:

• "Planted and cultivated crops, increasing annual production by 30%.”
• "Operated farm machinery including tractors and plows with extensive commitment to safety.”
• "Cared for 150+ livestock including feeding, cleaning pens, and administering medication as needed.”

Take a look at the farm worker employment history resume sample below:

How to write a farm worker resume with no experience 

When creating a farm worker resume with no experience, rely on your passion for the field and your transferable skills to create your resume. 

Include any educational background in agriculture, animal husbandry, or botany. If you’ve taken relevant courses, workshops, or training programs, add that as well. If you’ve completed any volunteer work on a farm, add that too. 

Transferable skills can make a difference, even if they’re not directly related to farm work. So, if you worked at a farm supply shop or cared for large animals, you can showcase these experiences.

In general, we don’t recommend including personal interests or hobbies on your resume. However, if you have personal (relevant) experience, like past experience in 4-H, it can be worth including. These experiences can demonstrate your passion for farm work and your drive to gain further knowledge — even with no direct experience on your resume.

Include the relevant key skills that make you a great farm worker

Your resume skills section provides you with the opportunity to showcase your knowledge of farm processes, harvesting procedures, and farm equipment or machinery. Those are the hard skills you’ve acquired working on a farm. 

However, your resume should include hard and soft skills, so be sure to include things like your ability to listen and acquire new skills, as taking directions from the farm manager is an important part of your job. You should also highlight your ability to work both independently and as part of a team. It is important to call attention to your physical fitness, endurance levels, and strong work ethic. These are known as soft skills.

Tailor this section to each job by including the skills the hiring manager has listed in the job post. Our resume builder offers several pre-written key skills to choose from, with proficiency ranges you can set — or write your own skills.

Here’s what the skills box looks like in our farm worker resume template. 

However, this list isn’t the only place to show your skills. Plant the seed throughout your resume by demonstrating them in action and sharing specific achievements and examples. 

For example, in your work experience and professional summary sections, you can highlight your: 

• Farm equipment operation by describing the type of equipment you’ve utilized and the type of work you’ve done
• Crop knowledge by providing examples of crops you’ve planted and harvested as well as typical yields
• Livestock expertise by detailing the type of animals you’ve cared for and the extent of your work with them

Look to the job description as a guide for what key skills to include.

Detail your education & relevant farm worker certifications

The education section is pretty straightforward on a farm worker resume: simply document your academic achievements in reverse chronological order. If you’ve earned a bachelor’s degree or higher, there’s no need to include your high school diploma.

A college degree is not a requirement for many farm worker jobs, however, employers looking for specific skills may want someone with a degree in agriculture, animal husbandry, botany, or another related field. List all degrees and certifications here as well as any honors or distinctions. 

Beyond formal academic education, you should also list relevant courses or certifications. For example:

• Training and certifications. Courses, workshops, or even webinars covering topics like agriculture, farm management, land management, or crop or livestock production.
• Apprenticeships. If you’ve gained farming skills through apprenticeships, that valuable experience should be showcased.
• Professional development. Are you involved with any relevant organizations like US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, American Farm Bureau Federation, or others? This shows your passion for the industry and your drive to further your involvement and knowledge.

Pick the right resume layout and design for a farm worker resume

Now you understand how to put together the story of your career in words. The finishing touch (and first impression) is the way your resume looks. Recruiters are busy and want to quickly find key information. That means keeping it easy to read with legible fonts, plenty of white space, and section headings that stand out.

We offer professionally-designed resume templates in four different categories. Check them out and then use a dedicated online resume maker such as ours to avoid any potential formatting errors. 

You can personalize your design, but remember bit of color is enough; it’s there only to grab attention at first glance. Don’t make margins smaller, as too much type can be difficult to read.  Also, headers and footers may not be scannable by ATS, so don’t put vital information (such as contact info or professional details) in them. One last thing: proofread and/or use an online resume builder with a spell-checker feature. You don’t want a typo to eliminate your job prospects.

Farm worker text-only resume example

Farm worker job market and outlook

The farm worker job market in the US is, unfortunately, showing signs of decline. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a -5% growth from 2022-2032. 

What type of salary you can expect in farm work

Farm workers typically earn an hourly wage or an annual salary. According to the BLS, farm workers earn median pay of $75,760 per year or $36.42 per hour. The highest 10 percent of farmers earned over $139,040 in 2022. 

Key takeaways for building a farm worker resume

A career as a farm worker can be a fulfilling choice for those who are energetic, enjoy physical work, and want to have an impact. A well-crafted farm worker resume is key to getting one of these positions. Use reverse chronological format, highlight your relevant expertise, and showcase your unique value proposition.

Using our online resume builder gets the tough part done for you, making landing that next farming job as simple as watching flowers bloom.