By Nick Marchant, Director, March Talent Partners · Published 28 October 2026 · 6 min read
TL;DR. The 2026 shortage list from Jobs and Skills Australia rates irrigation technicians, irrigation designers and horticultural supervisors in shortage. Every farmer and farm manager occupation rates “no shortage”, on evidence JSA labels mixed or limited. Our irrigation and orchard searches explain the gap: those roles close through direct approach, and a key JSA employer survey samples employers who advertised.
Key takeaways
- JSA rates 279 of 1,021 occupations in national shortage in 2026, or 27%, down from 29% in 2025 (Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026).
- Irrigation Technician, Irrigation Designer and Horticultural Supervisor or Specialist rate in shortage. Every farmer and farm manager occupation rates no shortage under an “on-balance” label (JSA data file, 2026).
- Most of JSA’s observed fill rates come from employer surveys, and its Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised samples employers with an advertised vacancy (JSA methodology, 2026).
- Not one of the irrigation roles we placed in the twelve months to July 2026 came from an advertisement (MTP placement data).
The 2026 shortage list from Jobs and Skills Australia gives agriculture a split verdict. The water and horticulture roles beneath management rate in shortage: irrigation technicians, irrigation designers and horticultural supervisors. The people who run the farms don’t. Every farmer and farm manager occupation on the list rates “no shortage”. If you’ve tried to hire an orchard or irrigation manager this year, that second line will jar, and JSA’s own confidence label points to the reason.
What does the 2026 shortage list say about farm roles?
JSA assessed 1,021 occupations and rated 279 of them in national shortage, 27%, against 29% in 2025 and 36% at the 2023 peak (Jobs and Skills Australia). JSA ties the fall to a labour market that softened over the year to July 2026. Agriculture splits along the management line.
| Occupation (OSCA 2024) | 2026 rating | JSA confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Irrigation Technician | Shortage | Clear |
| Irrigation Designer | Shortage | On-balance |
| Horticultural Supervisor or Specialist | Shortage | On-balance |
| Agricultural and Agritech Technician | Shortage | On-balance |
| Fruit, nut, vegetable and wine grape growers | No shortage | On-balance |
| Beef cattle, sheep and mixed livestock farmers | No shortage | On-balance |
| Grain, cotton and broadacre crop growers | No shortage | On-balance |
| Senior broadacre, livestock and vineyard farm workers | No shortage | On-balance |
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026 Occupation Shortage List, OSCA 2024 ratings from the file 2026_occupation_shortage_list_-_6_digit_anzsco_and_osca.xlsx. Grower and farmer rows grouped by MTP; every row in each group carries the same rating.
The line falls between the people who run the water and the people who run the whole operation. The irrigation and horticulture technical roles are short. The grower and farmer codes, where farm and orchard managers sit, are not.
Why does the list rate farm managers “no shortage”?
JSA attaches a confidence label to every rating. “Clear” means strong and consistent evidence. “On-balance” means the evidence sits close to the line between shortage and no shortage, or is mixed or limited (JSA methodology). Every farmer and farm manager rating in 2026 carries the on-balance label: the evidence leans toward no shortage, and there isn’t much of it.
Two features of the method explain the thin evidence for our end of the market. The ABS occupation classification, OSCA, files employed managers in the same group as farmers who run their own places, under “Farmers and Farm Managers” (ABS), so a corporate orchard manager vacancy and a family grower share one code. And most of JSA’s observed fill rates come from employer surveys. One of them, the Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised, samples employers with an advertised vacancy.
A role filled through a direct approach leaves little trace in a survey built on advertised vacancies.
What do our irrigation and orchard searches show?
Our searches point the other way, for the reason above. Not one of the irrigation roles we placed in the twelve months to July 2026 came from an advertisement. Every one closed through our network or a direct approach, as we set out in our horticulture hiring outlook. Our guide to hiring an orchard manager, written in June, records that three of our last four orchard manager placements had come from a direct approach, and all four went to corporate or fund-backed growers.
The people who can run commercial water already have jobs, and orchards don’t release them mid-season. The search runs as a conversation with someone who isn’t looking, and that conversation leaves little for a survey of advertisers to count. The list then reads the occupation as easy to fill, while the operator still waits through a search and a notice period.
The list does see the layer beneath. Irrigation technicians and horticultural supervisors rate short, and that layer is where the next managers come from. A supervisor who runs your water is a natural candidate for the next irrigation manager role, so a shortage at supervisor level now leaves a thinner shortlist later.
What should employers take from the 2026 shortage list?
Three things, in the order we’d act on them on a horticulture or irrigated operation.
- Treat technician and supervisor roles as long-lead hires. JSA now rates irrigation technicians, irrigation designers and horticultural supervisors in shortage. Open those searches before the season that needs them, and set the pay for an irrigation supervisor as you would for a scarce skill.
- Read the farm manager rating with JSA’s own caveat. “No shortage, on-balance” means the evidence was thin. Our horticulture searches run eight to twelve weeks from brief to offer, plus the candidate’s notice period. Plan on that timeline whatever the list says.
- Hire the supervisor with the step-up in mind. The supervisors the list rates short are your future irrigation and orchard managers. A supervisor who learns your water now is a shorter search when the manager role opens.
The farm manager rows could move either way on next year’s shortage list, on evidence this thin. Your own hiring record is the better guide: if your last water or orchard hire came through a direct approach, plan the next one the same way, and start it earlier.
Frequently asked questions
Is farm manager on the 2026 shortage list?
No. Jobs and Skills Australia rates every farmer and farm manager occupation “no shortage” in 2026, under an on-balance label that means the evidence was mixed, limited or close to the threshold. Of 1,021 occupations assessed, 279 rate in shortage, including irrigation technicians, irrigation designers and horticultural supervisors.
Why don’t irrigation and orchard hires show up as a shortage?
They fill through networks and direct approach. Not one of the irrigation roles we placed in the twelve months to July 2026 came from an advertisement, and one of JSA’s main employer surveys samples employers who advertised. A hire that never reaches an advertisement leaves little trace in that survey, so the occupation can read as easy to fill.
How long does it take to hire a horticultural supervisor?
Plan on eight to twelve weeks from brief to offer, plus the candidate’s notice period, which is how our horticulture searches run. Housing or relocation adds time. The role’s place on JSA’s 2026 shortage list, beside irrigation technicians, is a reason to open the search before the season that needs the role.
March Talent Partners works with farming businesses and agribusinesses across Australia on permanent placements, from operational roles through to mid-senior management. If an irrigation, orchard or horticulture role is coming up on your operation, talk to us about the search before it reaches an advertisement.
