What You Need to Know About Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter
Job Description: Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.
Life As an Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter
- Discard inferior or defective products or foreign matter, and place acceptable products in containers for further processing.
- Place products in containers according to grade and mark grades on containers.
- Weigh products or estimate their weight, visually or by feel.
- Record grade or identification numbers on tags or on shipping, receiving, or sales sheets.
- Grade and sort products according to factors such as color, species, length, width, appearance, feel, smell, and quality to ensure correct processing and usage.
- Separate fiber tufts between fingers to assess strength, uniformity, and cohesive quality of fibers.
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What Every Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter Should Know
When polled, Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
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.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
Other Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter Job Titles
- Fruit Sorter
- Seed Sorter
- Grain Inspector
- Spud Sorter
- Nut Culler
What Kind of Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter Job Opportunities Are There?
There were about 42,900 jobs for Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter. There will be an estimated 5,700 positions for Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter per year.

The states with the most job growth for Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter are Montana, Washington, and Oregon. Watch out if you plan on working in Florida, South Carolina, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter Salary
Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters make between $19,190 and $33,390 a year.

Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters who work in North Dakota, Minnesota, or Kansas, make the highest salaries.
How much do Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $25,610 |
Arizona | $24,530 |
Arkansas | $26,190 |
California | $25,140 |
Colorado | $22,740 |
Delaware | $26,690 |
Georgia | $22,140 |
Idaho | $21,480 |
Illinois | $26,980 |
Indiana | $26,500 |
Iowa | $30,940 |
Kansas | $33,910 |
Kentucky | $26,540 |
Louisiana | $32,520 |
Maine | $31,950 |
Maryland | $27,240 |
Massachusetts | $28,730 |
Michigan | $23,740 |
Minnesota | $35,900 |
Mississippi | $24,630 |
Missouri | $27,630 |
Nebraska | $31,360 |
New Jersey | $31,790 |
New Mexico | $20,900 |
New York | $28,050 |
North Carolina | $24,750 |
North Dakota | $39,660 |
Ohio | $24,680 |
Oklahoma | $26,220 |
Oregon | $26,380 |
Pennsylvania | $25,360 |
South Carolina | $23,450 |
South Dakota | $27,440 |
Tennessee | $26,470 |
Texas | $24,440 |
Vermont | $29,260 |
Virginia | $26,400 |
Washington | $29,340 |
Wisconsin | $31,840 |
What Tools do Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters Use?
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Word processing software
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP
How to Become an Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter
Individuals working as an Agricultural Products Grader or Sorter have obtained the following education levels:

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where do Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters Work?

Agricultural Products Graders and Sorters work in the following industries:

References:
Image Credit: {} via CC0 Public Domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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