Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Advise farm groups or growers on land preparation or livestock care techniques that will maximize the quantity and quality of production.
• Negotiate contracts with farmers for the production or purchase of farm products.
• Sell supplies, such as seed, feed, fertilizers, or insecticides, arranging for loans or financing as necessary.
• Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products.
• Calculate applicable government grain quotas.
• Purchase, for further processing or for resale, farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees.
• Maintain records of business transactions and product inventories, reporting data to companies or government agencies as necessary.
• Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products.
• Coordinate or direct activities of workers engaged in cutting, transporting, storing, or milling products and maintaining records.
• Review orders to determine product types and quantities required to meet demand.
• Estimate land production possibilities, surveying property and studying factors such as crop rotation history, soil fertility, or irrigation facilities.
• Examine or test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade, or locate any evidence of disease or insect damage.
• Maintain records of business transactions and product inventories, reporting data to companies or government agencies as necessary.

Skills

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

Abilities

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

Knowledge

• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• 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.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• 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.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• 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.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• 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.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 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.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• 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.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• 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.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Education

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

81850/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

39.35/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

21,630

Yearly Projected Openings

2220

Personality

Enterprising: People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business. They do well at jobs that need:

• Stress Tolerance
• Attention to Detail
• Dependability
• Integrity
• Analytical Thinking
• Initiative

Tools

• Animal weighing scales
• Desktop calculator
• Desktop computers
• Floor or platform scales
• Grain analyzers
• Micrometers
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Rulers
• Special purpose telephones

Technology

• Accounting software
• Customer relationship management CRM software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Electronic mail software
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
• Internet browser software
• Inventory management software
• Office suite software
• Presentation software
• Project management software
• Spreadsheet software
• Web platform development software
• Word processing software