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Agricultural Equipment Operators

Also called: Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Rake Operator

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What they do:
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
On the job, you would:
  • Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
  • Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
  • Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.

Knowledge

Arts and Humanities
  • English language
Engineering and Technology
  • mechanical

Skills

Basic Skills
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Abilities

Controlled Movement
  • quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat
  • use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down
Hand and Finger Use
  • keep your arm or hand steady
  • hold or move items with your hands

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Dependability
  • Persistence
  • Cooperation
  • Attention to Detail
  • Independence
  • Initiative

Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Data base user interface and query software
  • Martens Farms Farm Trac
  • Microsoft Access Hot Technology
Presentation software
  • Microsoft PowerPoint Hot Technology
Spreadsheet software
  • Microsoft Excel Hot Technology

Education

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

Get started on your career:

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Job Outlook

Bright Outlook
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
Salary
$36,360
$25,490
$47,540
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about agricultural equipment operators.