Mixed farmer to crop production manager
A mixed farmer already meets 29% of what the crop production manager role asks for. The move turns on 20 required skills not yet in the profile.
78.2/ 100
1 How much of what a crop production manager is expected to do is already part of a mixed farmer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the crop production manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A crop production manager role treats 10 of its required skills as things a mixed farmer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- agronomical production principles
- assign duties to agriculture workers
- crop production principles
- cultivate crops for biomass
- environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry
- health and safety regulations
What stands in the way is 20 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A crop production manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a mixed farmer background worth leading with.
- already held cultivate crops for biomass handling and moving
- already held manage crop production handling and moving
- already held apply sustainable tillage techniques handling and moving
- already held assign duties to agriculture workers management skills
- already held agroecology agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
- already held e-agriculture agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary
All 15 carried skills, including the 10 the crop production manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 45 missing skills fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn agroforestry required
- still to learn plant disease control required
- still to learn plant harvest methods required
- still to learn soil structure required
- still to learn technical equipment for crop production required
- still to learn fertilisation principles required
- still to learn pest control in plants required
- optional, not held conservation agriculture optional
- optional, not held irrigation systems optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held plant propagation optional
- optional, not held watering principles optional
- optional, not held agronomy optional
- still to learn ensure soil fertility required
- still to learn manage crop rotation required
- still to learn monitor fields required
- still to learn store crops required
- still to learn store products required
- still to learn maintain storage facilities required
- optional, not held apply alternate wetting and drying techniques optional
- optional, not held grow plants optional
- optional, not held irrigate soil optional
- optional, not held maintain plant health optional
- optional, not held maintain plant soil nutrition optional
- optional, not held prepare planting area optional
- optional, not held propagate plants optional
- still to learn plant species required
- still to learn ecology required
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- still to learn manage agricultural staff required
- optional, not held manage agritourism activities optional
- optional, not held optimise production optional
- still to learn maintain technical equipment required
- optional, not held use agricultural information systems and databases optional
- still to learn execute disease and pest control activities required
5 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a crop production manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 agroforestry study this
- 02 ensure soil fertility practise this
- 03 execute disease and pest control activities practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held agronomical production principles knowledge
- already held assign duties to agriculture workers skill
- already held crop production principles knowledge
- already held cultivate crops for biomass skill
- already held environmental legislation in agriculture and forestry knowledge
- already held health and safety regulations knowledge
- already held manage crop production skill
- already held manage production enterprise skill
- already held operate agricultural machinery skill
- already held supervise hygiene procedures in agricultural settings skill
- already held agritourism knowledge
- already held agroecology knowledge
- already held apply sustainable tillage techniques skill
- already held e-agriculture knowledge
- already held harvest crop skill
The 5 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn leadership principles required
- still to learn types of storage facilities required
- optional, not held present the farm facilities optional
- optional, not held promote farm products optional
- optional, not held provide agri-touristic services optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held execute fertilisation optional
- optional, not held perform on-farm product processing optional
- optional, not held prepare equipment for harvest optional
- optional, not held project management principles optional
25 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply alternate wetting and drying techniques optional
- optional, not held conservation agriculture optional
- optional, not held execute fertilisation optional
- optional, not held grow plants optional
- optional, not held irrigate soil optional
- optional, not held irrigation systems optional
- optional, not held maintain plant health optional
- optional, not held maintain plant soil nutrition optional
- optional, not held manage agritourism activities optional
- optional, not held optimise production optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held perform on-farm product processing optional
- optional, not held plant propagation optional
- optional, not held prepare equipment for harvest optional
- optional, not held prepare planting area optional
- optional, not held present the farm facilities optional
- optional, not held promote farm products optional
- optional, not held propagate plants optional
- optional, not held provide agri-touristic services optional
- optional, not held use agricultural information systems and databases optional
- optional, not held watering principles optional
- optional, not held agronomy optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held project management principles optional
18 held skills the crop production manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role agricultural business management knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with farm regulations skill
- not needed by the target role dairy animal production knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop agricultural policies skill
- not needed by the target role drive agricultural machines skill
- not needed by the target role handle poultry skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with crop growers skill
- not needed by the target role livestock farming systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role livestock reproduction knowledge
- not needed by the target role manage farm products skill
- not needed by the target role manage farm supplies skill
- not needed by the target role manage livestock skill
- not needed by the target role manage the health and welfare of livestock skill
- not needed by the target role market farm products skill
- not needed by the target role move animals skill
- not needed by the target role operate farm equipment skill
- not needed by the target role recycle livestock manure skill
- not needed by the target role sustainable agricultural production principles knowledge
19 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn agroforestry required
- still to learn plant disease control required
- still to learn plant harvest methods required
- still to learn plant species required
- still to learn soil structure required
- still to learn technical equipment for crop production required
- still to learn types of storage facilities required
- still to learn ecology required
- still to learn fertilisation principles required
- still to learn leadership principles required
- still to learn pest control in plants required
- optional, not held conservation agriculture optional
- optional, not held irrigation systems optional
- optional, not held organic farming optional
- optional, not held plant propagation optional
- optional, not held watering principles optional
- optional, not held agronomy optional
- optional, not held bioeconomy optional
- optional, not held project management principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a mixed farmer become a crop production manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A mixed farmer already covers 29% of what a crop production manager is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 10 of which the crop production manager role treats as required.
What skills does a mixed farmer need to become a crop production manager?
20 required skills are missing, plus 25 optional ones. They fall into 11 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by agriculture, forestry, fisheries and veterinary. The single most important is agroforestry.
How hard is the move from mixed farmer to crop production manager?
Its learning distance is 78.2 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.