Occupation Details
Agricultural Equipment Operators
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.
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Interests
Realistic
Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Work Values
Achievement
Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Support
Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence
Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Salary & Job Outlook
Starting Salary
$29,750.00
New York StateMedian Salary
$47,760.00
New York StateExperienced Salary
$56,050.00
New York StateNational Average for Comparison
New York State Job Market Outlook
Jobs Right Now (2018)
1,140
professionals in NYFuture Job Growth (2030)
1,330
+19 jobs/yearNew Jobs Every Year
213
new opportunities yearlyGrowth Rate
0.2%
projected increasePreparation: Experience, Training, and Education
The list below outlines the prior educational experience required to perform in this occupation.
Quick Start - High school or less
Experience Requirements
Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, a person can become a waiter or waitress even if he/she has never worked before.
Education Requirements
Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Training Details
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.
Transferrable Skills and Experience
These occupations involve following instructions and helping others. Examples include food preparation workers, dishwashers, floor sanders and finishers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, logging equipment operators, and baristas.
School Programs
The following lists school programs which are applicable to this occupation.
Licensing & Certification
State License and Certifications Requirements are not currently associated with this occupation.
Apprenticeship
Contact your regional representative to learn more about apprenticeships available in your area by visiting Apprenticeship Contacts.
Skills
The list below includes the skills required by workers in this occupation; skills are what allow you to learn more quickly and improve your performance.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operations 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.
Skill level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Knowledge
The list below includes knowledge items, the principles and facts required by this occupation.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Mechanical
Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Transportation
Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
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.
Knowledge level is measured on a seven point scale, where one means 'some competence required for this occupation' and seven means 'a high level of expertise required for this occupation'.
Work Environment
The list below includes the physical and social factors that influence the nature of work in this occupation.
Hover over or tap each factor to see its description.
Work Styles
Included in the list below are the personal work style characteristics that can affect how well a worker is likely to perform in this occupation.
Achievement/Effort
Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attention to Detail
Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Cooperation
Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Dependability
Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Independence
Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Initiative
Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Integrity
Job requires being honest and ethical.
Persistence
Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Self-Control
Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Stress Tolerance
Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Tools & Technology
This list below describes the machines, equipment, tools, software, and information technology that workers in this occupation will use.
Tools
- 3-point sprayers
- Air drill seeders
- Air reels
- Air seeders
- All terrain vehicle ATV discs
- All terrain vehicle ATV harrows
- All terrain vehicle ATV manure spreaders
- All terrain vehicle ATV plows
- All terrain vehicle ATV post hole diggers
- All terrain vehicle ATV rakes
- All terrain vehicle ATV seeders
- All terrain vehicle ATV sprayers
- All terrain vehicles ATV
- Auger movers
- Auger wagons
- Backhoes
- Batch grain dryers
- Bedding hippers
- Bucket elevators
- Cargo trucks
- Chaff spreaders
- Chisel disks
- Chisel plows
- Combine headers
- Compact tractors
- Compost turners
- Continuous flow grain dryers
- Coulter disks
- Coulter drills
- Coulter rippers
Technology
- Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager
- Martens Farms Farm Site Mate
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
Duties
Duties are job behaviors describing activities that occur on multiple jobs. The generalized and detailed work activities described in the list below apply to this occupation.
- maintain production or work records
- perform safety inspections in agricultural, forestry, or fishing setting
- monitor production machinery/equipment operation to detect problems
- follow horticulture irrigation techniques
- direct and coordinate activities of workers or staff
- identify crop characteristics
- identify fruit or vegetable or crops ready for harvest
- grade, classify, or sort products according to specifications
- maintain or repair cargo or passenger vehicle
- maintain or repair farm vehicles, machinery, or mechanical implements
- move or fit heavy objects
- plant, cultivate, or harvest crops, including aquaculture
- hand harvest agricultural crops
- load, unload, or stack containers, materials, or products
- measure, weigh, or count products or materials
- use herbicides, fertilizers, pesticides or related products
- mix paint, ingredients, or chemicals, according to specifications
- use portable hand spray equipment
- load or unload material or workpiece into machinery
- operate power driven pumps
- use hand or power tools
- use vehicle repair tools or safety equipment
- operate agricultural equipment or machinery
- drive automobile, van, or light truck
- operate forklift
- drive truck with capacity greater than 3 tons
- operate tractor with accessories or attachments
Tasks
The list below outlines specific tasks that a worker in this occupation is called upon to do regularly.
- 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.
- Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
- Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.
- Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
- Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
- Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.
- Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.
- Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.
- Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.
- Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.
- Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.