Life As an Agricultural Equipment Operator
Agricultural Equipment Operator Job 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.
List of Agricultural Equipment Operator Job Duties
- Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.
- Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
- Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
- Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
- Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.
- Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
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What Every Agricultural Equipment Operator Should Know
Agricultural Equipment Operators state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.
Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Related Job Titles
- Machine Farmworker
- Fruit Harvester, Machine Operator
- Tractor Operator Helper
- Broomcorn Thresher
- Fruit Harvest Machine Operator
What Kind of Agricultural Equipment Operator Job Opportunities Are There?
In the United States, there were 63,900 jobs for Agricultural Equipment Operator in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 5.5% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 3,500 new jobs for Agricultural Equipment Operator by 2026. The BLS estimates 10,200 yearly job openings in this field.
The states with the most job growth for Agricultural Equipment Operator are Colorado, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Watch out if you plan on working in South Carolina, Florida, or Delaware. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Average Agricultural Equipment Operators Salary
The salary for Agricultural Equipment Operators ranges between about $20,890 and $46,550 a year.
Agricultural Equipment Operators who work in Michigan, New York, or North Dakota, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Agricultural Equipment Operators in different U.S. states.
| State | Annual Mean Salary |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $26,010 |
| Arizona | $32,670 |
| Arkansas | $26,150 |
| California | $32,180 |
| Colorado | $32,890 |
| Florida | $28,420 |
| Georgia | $26,860 |
| Idaho | $32,910 |
| Illinois | $36,260 |
| Indiana | $35,030 |
| Iowa | $37,100 |
| Kansas | $33,990 |
| Kentucky | $32,570 |
| Louisiana | $33,160 |
| Maryland | $28,560 |
| Massachusetts | $29,480 |
| Michigan | $39,640 |
| Minnesota | $37,310 |
| Mississippi | $37,410 |
| Missouri | $34,240 |
| Montana | $29,630 |
| Nebraska | $39,020 |
| New Jersey | $24,560 |
| New Mexico | $33,750 |
| New York | $37,430 |
| North Carolina | $27,440 |
| North Dakota | $39,760 |
| Ohio | $37,420 |
| Oklahoma | $29,390 |
| Oregon | $31,170 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,370 |
| South Carolina | $34,940 |
| South Dakota | $38,780 |
| Tennessee | $33,520 |
| Texas | $27,240 |
| Utah | $29,720 |
| Vermont | $31,050 |
| Virginia | $33,030 |
| Washington | $34,900 |
| Wisconsin | $37,420 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Agricultural Equipment Operators
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Agricultural Equipment Operators may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Access
How do I Become an Agricultural Equipment Operator?
Are there Agricultural Equipment Operators education requirements?
What work experience do I need to become an Agricultural Equipment Operator?
Who Employs Agricultural Equipment Operators?
The table below shows the approximate number of Agricultural Equipment Operators employed by various industries.
References:
Image Credit: Alandmanson via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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