Some of a farmer's or farm manager's tasks might include rotating livestock in paddocks, removing the tails of lambs, mustering, drenching, dipping and shearing sheep. You are also likely to be preparing animal food, controlling pests and weeds, repairing farm buildings, yards and property as well as maintaining financial and farming records. Farmers and farm managers also manage pasture and stock breeding programs, buy and sell stock, machinery and farming materials and hire and supervise other farm staff.
You will need to be adaptable and versatile, as you will be expected to carry out practical farm skills as well as maintain financial records and develop comprehensive short and long term property management strategies. Organisational skills and the ability to plan ahead are also important, as farmers and farm managers have to apply different strategies to protect themselves from unpredictable changes in the market for agricultural products. Such strategies might include carefully planning the combination of crops grown, so that if the price of one crop drops, sufficient income can be yielded from other crops. In some cases, livestock can be kept and crops stored, in order to take advantage of better prices at a later time.