MyPlan.com :: Agricultural Equipment Operators

Agricultural Equipment Operators

Careers / Agricultural Equipment Operators

Summary Description


	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.

Sample Job Titles

1.	Agricultural Equipment Operator

2.	Agricultural Plow Operator

3.	Baler

4.	Baler Operator

5.	Bean Picker Machine Operator

6.	Berry Picker Machine Operator

7.	Broomcorn Thresher

8.	Bulbs Farmworker

9.	Cane Flume Chute Operator

10.	Cane Flume Feeding Machine Operator

11.	Cane Piler

12.	Chopper Operator

13.	Combine Driver

14.	Combine Operator

15.	Corn Cutter

16.	Corn Detasseler Machine Operator

17.	Corn Husker Machine Operator

18.	Cotton Baler

19.	Cotton Chopper

20.	Cotton Ginner

21.	Cotton Picker Operator

22.	Cotton Stripper

23.	Cultivator

24.	Custom Applicator

25.	Custom Harvester

26.	Cutter Operator

27.	Dairy Machine Operator Farmworker

28.	Diversified Crops Farmworker

29.	Equipment Operator

30.	Equipment Operator Wage Hand

31.	Farm Equipment Operator

32.	Farm Hand

33.	Farm Laborer

34.	Farm Machine Tender

35.	Farm Manager

36.	Farm Tractor Operator

37.	Farm Worker

38.	Farmer

39.	Fertilizer Applicator

40.	Fertilizing Machine Operator

41.	Field Crop Farmworker

42.	Field Crops Harvest Machine Operator

43.	Field Hauler

44.	Fruit Farmworker

45.	Fruit Harvest Machine Operator

46.	Fruit Harvester, Machine Operator

47.	Fruit Loader, Machine Operator

48.	Fruit Picker, Machine Operator

49.	Fruit Thinner, Machine Operator

50.	General Farmworker

51.	Gin Operator

52.	Ginner

53.	Ginning Operator

54.	Grain Combine Driver

55.	Grain Combiner

56.	Grain Farmworker

57.	Grain Thresher

58.	Harvester Operator

59.	Hay Baler

60.	Hay Chopper

61.	Hay Rake Operator

62.	Hay Stacker Operator

63.	Irrigation Worker

64.	Laborer

65.	Lime Spreader

66.	Liquid Fertilizer Servicer

67.	Loader Operator

68.	Machine Farmworker

69.	Machine Milker

70.	Machine Operator Cane Cutter

71.	Machine Operator Farmworker

72.	Machine Operator Hay Stacker

73.	Machine Operator Hop Picker

74.	Machine Operator Hop Worker

75.	Machine Operator Picker

76.	Machine Operator Replanter

77.	Machine Operator Transplanter

78.	Machine Pecan Gatherer

79.	Machine Pecan Picker

80.	Machine Tender

81.	Mechanic

82.	Milking Machine Operator

83.	Mushroom Growth Media Mixer

84.	Nut Sheller Machine Operator

85.	Orange Picker Machine Operator

86.	Packing Tractor Machine Operator

87.	Peanut Picker

88.	Peanut Shaker

89.	Picker Operator

90.	Planter

91.	Planting Machine Crewman

92.	Planting Machine Operator

93.	Plowman

94.	Portable Feed Mill Operator

95.	Potato Bucker

96.	Potato Picker

97.	Rake Operator

98.	Raking Machine Operator

99.	Replanting Machine Crewman

100.	Replanting Machine Operator

101.	Rice Farmworker

102.	Seed Potato Arranger

103.	Sprayer

104.	Straw Baler

105.	Sugar Cane Planter Machine Operator

106.	Sugar Cane Planting Equipment Operator

107.	Thresher

108.	Tobacco Primer Machine Operator

109.	Tractor Driver

110.	Tractor Operator

111.	Tractor Operator Helper

112.	Truck Driver

113.	Vegetable Farmworker

114.	Vegetable Harvest Machine Operator

115.	Vegetable Loader Machine Operator

116.	Wheat Combine Driver

117.	Windrower Operator

Job Tasks

	Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions. Maintain forestry, hunting, or agricultural equipment. Confer with managers to make operational decisions.

	Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. Inspect equipment or facilities to determine condition or maintenance needs.

	Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps. Operate irrigation systems. Maintain forestry, hunting, or agricultural equipment.

	Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery. Prepare materials or solutions for animal or plant use.

	Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment. Operate farming equipment. Maintain forestry, hunting, or agricultural equipment.

	Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery. Operate farming equipment.

	Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities. Direct activities of agricultural, forestry, or fishery employees.

	Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.

	Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers. Apply chemical solutions to plants to protect against disease or insects or to enhance growth.

	Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools. Attach equipment extensions or accessories.

	Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops. Operate farming equipment.

	Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers. Operate farming equipment.

	Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals. Plant crops, trees, or other plants. Operate farming equipment.

	Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information. Measure physical characteristics of forestry or agricultural products. Record agricultural or forestry inventory data.

	Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers. Load agricultural or forestry products for shipment.

	Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.

	Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers. Attach equipment extensions or accessories.

Work Activities

Importance	Work Activity

Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment — Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.

Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or water craft.

Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Scheduling Work and Activities — Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.

Monitoring and Controlling Resources — Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.

Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

Nature of the Work


	(Abstract from Career Articles)

	Agricultural Workers
	Agricultural workers maintain the quality of farms, crops, and livestock by operating machinery and doing physical labor under the supervision of farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers.

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Working Conditions


	(Abstract from Career Articles)

	Agricultural Workers
	Agricultural workers usually perform their duties outdoors in all kinds of weather.

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