Senior Broadacre Crop Farm Worker

A Senior Broadacre Crop Farm Worker oversees the cultivation and harvest of extensive grain, oilseed, and pulse crops across large agricultural properties in Australia. They direct day-to-day farm operations, supervise junior staff, and maintain machinery and equipment used in cereal and broadacre production. The role requires knowledge of soil health, seasonal planning, pest and disease management, and compliance with biosecurity and chemical safety regulations.

Supervise farm workers and contractors during planting, spraying, and harvesting operations to ensure productivity and safety standards. Operate and maintain broadacre machinery including tractors, headers, air seeders, and boom sprayers across paddocks. Monitor soil moisture, weather patterns, and crop growth stages to make decisions about irrigation, fertiliser application, and harvest timing. Prepare and apply pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides in accordance with product labels and chemical safety data sheets, recording application rates and dates in farm records. Conduct pre-season machinery maintenance and repairs, including servicing engines, replacing wear items, and troubleshooting hydraulic and electrical systems. Implement integrated pest and disease management strategies, identifying crop stress and recommending preventative or treatment measures. Coordinate grain storage, drying, and handling to maintain crop quality and prevent mould or pest contamination. Record farm activities including seeding dates, chemical applications, equipment hours, and yield data for regulatory compliance and production analysis.

The standard entry pathway requires a Certificate IV or Certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training (ABS skill level 3). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

Your income depends entirely on crop prices and weather you can't control. A drought or global grain price crash wipes out earnings fast. You're also on call during harvest: 60+ hour weeks are normal, and machinery breakdowns don't care about weekends. Certification requirements are ongoing too.

Remote work isn't an option: you need to be on the farm, so relocation is usually necessary.

• Adaptability and Flexibilitycore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Goal Setting and Planningcore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Inventory Trackingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Team Collaborationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workload Self-Managementcore
• Basic Arithmetic and Numerical Accuracy
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Process Improvement Identification
• Quality Assurance and Checking
• Record Management
• Supplier Communication
• Written Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026