A farmer either raises livestock, or grows crops, or both, but all are striving to do the same thing, produce food. Farmers are what feed us, and without food, we would not live. A farmer has many duties; however, he does not need a formal education to farm, and he can still earn a good salary in this field. A farmer works 7 days a week and very long hours. They work in the spring when most are planting crops or calving. In the summer, they are putting up hay for their livestock, spraying, and harvesting wheat, oats, etc. In the fall, they are harvesting corn, Milo, soybeans, etc. In the winter, it slows down unless raising livestock because it is necessary to feed them and provide shelter for them in the harsh weather conditions. (“Farmer”) Most farmers begin their career working on their family farm, or working as a hired hand on a farm. Although having a formal education is not needed in this field, but most go to school for some type of agriculture. A high school diploma or a college degree can be helpful in securing bank loans, which can be necessary on the farm when purchasing expensive items such as machinery. While owning machinery there comes repairs and basic maintains, and having the knowledge to do …show more content…
Hired hands usually earn between $9-19 per hour according to SDMyLife. All of these salaries can depend widely on the type of farm, and the job description on that farm. When planting crops there can be many factors to what the outcome may be on that crop. Weather conditions are the first factor, because crops have to have rain and sun. The crop yield is another factor, because producing a good crop is necessary to make a profit. The market prices can be another major factor, because if the prices of that crop are down some farmers may put it in a grain bin and wait for the prices to rise and sell it then.