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Agricultural Equipment Operators

Under the title Agricultural Equipment Operators, workers 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. O*NET rates it as some preparation, which usually means a few months to a year of learning on the job. It leans on operation and control, operations monitoring, and troubleshooting. One core duty is to load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers. The strongest interest signal is Realistic (7.0 of 7), then Conventional (3.7) and Investigative, which gives it the code RCI. If you want hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world, keep it on your list. If you need creative work with room for original expression, it may feel thin.

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.

Main tasks

  • 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.
  • Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
  • 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.

Skills

  • Operation and Control
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Troubleshooting
  • Repairing
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Equipment Maintenance

Who this career fits

May suit you if

  • You like ending the day with a physical result you can point to.
  • You like clear rules and getting the details right.
  • You want to start work after a short stretch of training.
  • You are comfortable relying on operation and control and operations monitoring.

May not suit you if

  • You would rather stay away from physical, hands-on tasks.
  • You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 1.0 out of 7 here.
  • You want a career built on years of advanced study.

Interest profile

O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code RCI takes the three highest, and Realistic comes first here.

Preparation

Some preparation. Most people start with a high school diploma, then learn from experienced coworkers over a few months to a year.

Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Less than a High School Diploma. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.

Also called

  • Baler Operator
  • Cutter Operator
  • Equipment Operator
  • Farm Equipment Operator
  • Hay Baler

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.