
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Also called: Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Rake Operator
What they do:
Drive and control farm equipment to till soil and to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops. 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
Spreadsheet software
- Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager
Education
Job Outlook
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