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At the start of A New Hope Luke is working on Uncle Owen's moisture farm.
What was his job on the farm?

The night after Owen purchases C3PO and R2D2 Luke makes the claim that he thinks the droids will work out and that he would no longer be needed to help on the farm. Although Luke might've been stretching the truth to support his argument so he could leave a season earlier, no one calls out Luke for making wild claims about the droids being able to do his work. Considering what C3PO and R2D2 are physically capable of that Luke would also be able to do, Luke's job duties would seem to fall into the range of driving vehicles (collecting moisture perhaps) and small equipment repairs.
Are his job duties ever detailed in EU or by anyone that worked on the films?

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    Well he is pretty much just a farm hand. He maintains the Moisture Evaporators and ensures they are operating properly. Besides that he just maintains equipment and anything else Owen tells him to. If you need more information on the duties of a Moisture farmer, consider contacting a Californian.
    – user45549
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 21:16
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    Well, he's described by his aunt thusly; “Luke’s just not a farmer, Owen,” Beru said with a sad smile. “He has too much of his father in him.”. The implication is that he's a farmer.
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 21:46
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    It would be rather unusual for someone working at a small farm (particularly a family member) to have specific job duties, wouldn't it? Presumably he just does whatever needs doing, same as happens here. Commented Aug 28, 2015 at 23:39
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    He was a teenager. His primary job was goofing off and ignoring any authority figure like his uncle and aunt who tried to tell him what to do and how to live his life.
    – BBlake
    Commented Aug 29, 2015 at 0:48
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    @bahsjacquet - What she's saying is that he's a crap farmer.
    – Valorum
    Commented Aug 29, 2015 at 7:20

1 Answer 1

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Luke is cheap labour.

Don't forget, Owen tells Luke this year, he'll be able to make enough from the harvest and hire some more hands.

The implication is, there are tasks on the farm which can't be done by droids, but instead require a human. Luke doesn't have to be paid as much to do them, because he's family. Owen expects, not unreasonably from his point of view, that Luke will help out of loyalty to the family where he was raised.

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