Farmworkers & Laborers, Crop, Nursery, & Greenhouse

realistic interests agricultural product equipment field crop plant product for shipment forestry product maintain vehicles inspection fertilizer

Greenhouse Worker, Grower, Harvester, Nursery Worker

What they do:
Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
On the job, you would:
  • Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
  • Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
  • Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.

Knowledge

Manufactured or Agricultural Goods

  • food production

Math and Science

  • biology

Skills

Basic Skills

  • talking to others

People and Technology Systems

  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Abilities

Hand and Finger Use

  • keep your arm or hand steady
  • hold or move items with your hands

Physical Strength

  • use your lower back and stomach
  • lift, push, pull, or carry

Endurance

  • exercise for a long time without getting out of breath

Controlled Movement

  • quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

They do well at jobs that need:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Dependability
  • Cooperation
  • Integrity
  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Initiative

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Electronic mail software

  • IBM Lotus Notes
  • Microsoft Outlook Hot Technology

Presentation software

  • Microsoft PowerPoint Hot Technology

Data base user interface and query software

  • BCL Landview Systems WinCrop
  • Farm Works Software Trac

Education

Education: (rated 1 of 5)
no high school diploma/GED or
high school diploma/GED
usually needed

Get started on your career:

Find Licenses
Apprenticeship.gov

Job Outlook

Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
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