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Agricultural Equipment Operators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about 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.

Related: Crushing, Grinding, & Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Extruding, Forming, Pressing, & Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Farmworkers & Laborers, Crop, Nursery, & Greenhouse Machine Feeders & Offbearers Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, & Still Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders

Industries: Farming, Forestry, Fishing, & Hunting Wholesale/Commercial Sales

Summary
Details

Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.
Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.
Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.
Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.
Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.
Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.
Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.
Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.

Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

39980/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

19.22/hr

Currently Employed

5,570

Yearly Projected Openings

870

Realistic: 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

Agricultural rollers
Agricultural tractors
Air dryers
All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
Animal husbandry equipment
Backhoes
Bucket conveyors
Cargo trucks
Chain conveyors
Collection tanks
Combine harvesters
Composter
Container trailers
Conveyor screw
Crop dividers
Cultivators
Dewatering equipment
Disks
Ditchers
Fans
Feed mixers
Fertilizer spreaders or distributors
Flatbed trailers
Floor or platform scales
Fog or mist generators
Forestry saws
Forklifts
Garden forks
Global positioning system GPS receiver
Graders or land levelers
Grapples
Grinding mills
Hammer mills
Hand sprayers
Harrows
Harvester parts or accessories
Harvesters
Haymaking machinery
Hoeing machines
Hole diggers
Metallic bins
Mowers
Planters
Ploughs
Post hole digger
Power blowers
Power chippers
Power grinders
Pulled scrapers
Seed drills
Seed treating equipment
Seeder attachment
Shovels
Skid steer loaders
Sludge shredders
Sprayers
Storage tanks
Subsoilers
Threshing machines
Vacuum pumps
Wagons
Weeders
Wheel loaders
Winches

Data base user interface and query software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Map creation software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software

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