For those with farms, what would you pay....

[katemary63]

What would you pay a young man, age 20, to do some work for you? It would be jobs like taking down a barbed wire fence, shoveling some goat/ horse manure or picking up deadfall in the pastures and hauling it to the burn pile on the flatbed. This would be a college student doing odd jobs to work off his horse's board. Not a man working for a living. I need an idea of a fair hourly wage per hour to credit to him. It would probably also help if you tell me what state you live in. Thanks!

[LibraryLover]

My in-college 21 yr old has done much private work of that nature (painting, shoveling, dry wall, digging, hauling etc etc) and charges around $10- 12/hr. ($10 to my friends). He sometimes charges by the job. (Paying a slow poke by the hour can be tricky). If my ds charges by the job, he calculates how long it will take based on past jobs. He's *not* a slow poke (except maybe at home lol). The last person whom he quoted a job rate ended up paying him $40 extra since the person expected the job to take much longer --and was pleasantly surprised. We're in MA, but I would think $8-10 would make sense most anywhere...

Edited August 7, 2010 by LibraryLover

[milovany]

Our 16yo son does jobs such as what you described for $10/hour. We live in Washington.

[katemary63]

Bump. I need a couple more answers. Anyone in the south?

[Audrey]

Bump. I need a couple more answers. Anyone in the south?

 

 

Way further north, but during harvest, we pay someone $15/hr to do the kind of work you're describing.

[gaillardia]

Son (18)mows an acre for neighbor, it takes him at least two hours because he also weed whacks. At first it was $30, but the guy now pays son $50.

 

Son has also done a lot of yard work for various acquaintances and friends, $8 per hour.

Some people pay him by the job, some by the hour. He made good money clearing someone's yard and weeding out a big rose garden with another teen. I think he did it in two days. I made him go back and do more work when I found out how much they gave him. I think they gave him $100, an older couple who couldn't really afford it but they wanted him to do it.

That is Texas.

 

Sometimes other son (22 at the time) took care of two horses on weekends and the owners paid him $20 a day. He'd go just after sunrise and around sunset, let the horses out, feed, water, and put away in the stable in the eve. That was MarylanD.

[QueenCat]

In the south here..... I'd say $15/hour since it's hard labor, and it's HOT out. And let him know you EXPECT him to take paid breaks to get enough fluid in his system. If mine were to get offered less, I'd feel they were being taken advantage of.... especially since it's not a permanent job, and you want to not just pay for the service but show how much you appreciate someone being willing to do such work in the southern heat and humidity.

[Nakia]

My brother did work like that for a summer several years back. He was paid $8/hr. We are in NC.

[ma23peas]

I pay $50 for my acre yard to be mowed/edged (it takes them 3 hours)...I pay my neighbor $125 to bushhog my pastures (5 acres) I tip my hay guy $20 to throw my hay into the loft (50 bales)...

 

But if I were doing it in lieu of horse board...figure out how much you would charge for the board (hay or no? farrier or no?) then come up with a list of monthly things he can do...I would say 10 hours of work would work for me...you can either say come over 3 hours each week and work...and then just assign him chores...or give him a list to complete...most are very hardworking when they know you care for their horse...speaking of which, now that it's only 95, I need to go work with mine! :)

Tara

[Renee in NC]

My brother did work like that for a summer several years back. He was paid $8/hr. We are in NC.

 

This is about right for non-skilled labor these days.

[FaithManor]

In our area, if it is skilled labor but doesn't require licensing or significant experience, he'd get $8.50-10.00 an hour. But, if it required more skill or a license, he'd be paid probably $15.00-16.00 per hour.

 

Faith

[StephanieZ]

$10-$15/hr for moderately demanding manual labor as described, really depending on how tight the labor market was and if *I* needed the help or if I was doing *him* a favor by making work.

 

$8-$10 for easy stuff (leaf raking, mucking stalls, etc). $20/hr for hardcore post hole digging / rock breaking exhausting stuff.

 

Obviously, I'd choose ONE wage that reflects a weighted average of the types of work to be done. (Or, choose a low rate and add a cash bonus per day for really hard stuff. . . )

 

I live in WV.

 

For comparison, our area has many minimum wage jobs (7.25/hr). I pay my housekeeper 11/hr -- but it's a regular 2 day/wk long term job, so that is lower than she charges for occasional jobs. Occasional house cleaners charge 15/hr. Many full time wage earners earn in the 10-12/hr range and that is considered a very good job.

[Miss Marple]

My boys do this type of work. They typically get $8-10 per hour. We are in Oklahoma.

[Dobela]

Same state as you here (Go Hogs LOL) and we pay about $8-$10 an hour for similar jobs. Well, my dad does any way. He will though sometimes give 'bonus' money closer to $15 an hour for jobs done better than average or faster than expected. Better than average means that my dad doesn't have to come along behind and finish anything or clean up anything or put away tools.

[amy g.]

I payed a 19 year old $10 per hour to help me clean my barn. He was such a hard worker that I gave him a $25 bonus at the end of the day.

[katemary63]

Thanks everybody! I think I'll go with $10/ hour. You've all been very helpful!

[Jeanne in MN]

My dad pays high school kids $10/hr for their work. We are in MN.