Careers > Agricultural Equipment Operators

Agricultural Equipment Operators

$37.78K Median Salary 11.7K Job Openings (Annual Projection) 12.9% Job Growth

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About This Career

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.

Reported Job Titles

Baler Operator, Cutter Operator, Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Hay Baler, Loader Operator, Packing Tractor Machine Operator, Rake Operator, Sprayer, Windrower Operator

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Skills You'll Need

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Abilities

Control Precision

Multilimb Coordination

Near Vision

Depth Perception

Far Vision

Problem Sensitivity

Arm-Hand Steadiness

Oral Comprehension

Rate Control

Reaction Time

Response Orientation

Hearing Sensitivity

Manual Dexterity

Oral Expression

Speech Clarity

Static Strength

Trunk Strength

Deductive Reasoning

Extent Flexibility

Finger Dexterity

Information Ordering

Speech Recognition

Knowledge

English Language

Skills

Operation and Control

Operations Monitoring

Troubleshooting

Active Listening

Equipment Maintenance

Quality Control Analysis

Repairing

Technology Skills

Data base user interface and query software

Presentation software

Spreadsheet software

Enterprise resource planning ERP software

Map creation software

Tools

Haymaking machinery

Fertilizer spreaders or distributors

Container trailers

Sprayers

Harvesters

Seed drills

Graders or land levelers

Agricultural tractors

Air dryers

Cultivators

Conveyor screw

Post hole digger

Disks

Harvester parts or accessories

Harrows

Ploughs

Mowers

Vacuum pumps

Animal husbandry equipment

Storage tanks

Combine harvesters

Agricultural rollers

Flatbed trailers

Chain conveyors

Grinding mills

All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled

Seeder attachment

Global positioning system GPS receiver

Grapples

Skid steer loaders

Garden forks

Planters

Power blowers

Pulled scrapers

Forklifts

Hand sprayers

Bucket conveyors

Collection tanks

Metallic bins

Shovels

Forestry saws

Weeders

Fans

Power grinders

Feed mixers

Hoeing machines

Seed treating equipment

Threshing machines

Fog or mist generators

Power chippers

Dewatering equipment

Hammer mills

Hole diggers

Crop dividers

Composter

Sludge shredders

Winches

Wagons

Floor or platform scales

Cargo trucks

Subsoilers

Ditchers

Wheel loaders

Backhoes

Abilities

Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Knowledge

English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills

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.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.

Technology Skills

Data base user interface and query software: Blackboard software; Database software; Microsoft Access; Yardi software
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Enterprise resource planning ERP software: Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne; Oracle PeopleSoft; Oracle PeopleSoft Financials; SAP software
Map creation software: ESRI Site Scan for ArcGIS; OpenDroneMap

Tools

Haymaking machinery: Hay rakes; Round balers; Square balers
Fertilizer spreaders or distributors: Fertilizer spreading equipment
Container trailers: Walking floor trailers
Sprayers: Chemical sprayers; Computerized weed spray trucks
Harvesters: Mechanical tree harvesters
Seed drills:
Graders or land levelers: Bed shapers
Agricultural tractors: Logging tractors
Air dryers: Hopper dryers
Cultivators: Rototillers
Conveyor screw: Conveyor control equipment
Post hole digger: Post hole augers
Disks: Tractor disc attachments
Harvester parts or accessories: Combine cylinders; Combine draper headers; Combine header transports; Combine headers
Harrows:
Ploughs: Plows
Mowers: Rear brush hog mowers; Rear flail mowers; Side-mount rotary mowers; Tractor-mounted mowers
Vacuum pumps: Automatic vacuum pumps
Animal husbandry equipment: Cattle chutes; Dehorners; Hoof picks
Storage tanks: Vacuum tanks
Combine harvesters:
Agricultural rollers: Field rollers; Land rollers; Roller packers
Flatbed trailers: Utility trailers
Chain conveyors:
Grinding mills: Grinders; Tub grinders
All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled: All terrain vehicles ATV
Seeder attachment: Seeders
Global positioning system GPS receiver: Global positioning system GPS receivers
Grapples: Timber tongs
Skid steer loaders: Bobcats
Garden forks: Pitchforks
Planters: Crop planters
Power blowers:
Pulled scrapers: Manure scrapers
Forklifts:
Hand sprayers: Spray guns
Bucket conveyors: Bucket elevators
Collection tanks: Collectors
Metallic bins: Food storage bins
Shovels: Snow shovels
Forestry saws: Crosscut saws; Head saws
Weeders: Weedeaters
Fans: Centrifugal ventilators
Power grinders: Underwater power grinders
Feed mixers: Animal feed mixers
Hoeing machines: Rotary hoes
Seed treating equipment: Seed mixers
Threshing machines: Threshers
Fog or mist generators: Aerosol generators
Power chippers: Wood chippers
Dewatering equipment: Filter press simulators
Hammer mills: Hammer hogs
Hole diggers: All terrain vehicle ATV post hole diggers
Crop dividers: Crop lifters
Composter: Compost bins
Sludge shredders: Comminutors
Winches: Hand winches
Wagons: Auger wagons
Floor or platform scales: Industrial floor scales
Cargo trucks: Logging trucks
Subsoilers:
Ditchers:
Wheel loaders: Front and back shovel wheel loaders
Backhoes: Backhoe-equipped tractors