A clear idea of what the responsibilities are and agreed start and finishing times are the most important factors for many farm relief workers say the results of a new survey, as well as the short commute time to work.

According to the 2026 Survey of Farm Relief Operators by FRS Co-Op, over 50% of respondents ranked clear communication of duties and responsibilities as the most important factor for working on a farm.

This was closely followed by proper rostering, with 44% of farm relief operators ranking agreed start and finish times as the most important factor of working on a farm.

More than half of farm workers say that higher wages will be necessary to retain existing employees, and attract more people into the agriculture industry.

The findings come at a time when Ireland’s farming industry is increasingly reliant on external labour support, with nine out of 10 farms now using external labour to various degrees throughout the year.

The upsides of farm working life, according to the survey results, are the flexibility of working in agriculture, as well as the short commute times to work.

Over 80% of respondents to the survey said they preferred to have flexibility in their working hours on farms over structured working times such as 9 to 5, Monday to Friday.

Travel time to work for about 50% of farm workers is less than 20 minutes, and another quarter said it was between 20 and 30 minutes.

The vast majority of farm operators said a short commuting time is an important consideration in choosing to work in farming.

More than 56% of farm workers cited the need for higher wages as the most important factor in keeping people in the industry, followed by a need to define clearer pathways for career progression.

Reducing the number of unsociable hours of work was ranked third in the survey as the most important factor to retain staff or attract new talent.

Neil Keane, head of agriculture at FRS Co-Op, said that the expansion of the dairy sector since the end of EU milk quotas has placed more demands on Irish farms.

‘To manage this challenge, the majority of Irish dairy farmers now rely on some form of external labour to help run their farm business efficiently. However, as we can see from the 2026 operator survey, farm workers place a lot of value in farm owners and managers that can clearly communicate roles and responsibilities.’