What Do Agricultural Equipment Operators Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Agricultural Equipment Operators 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. They also load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.

Other tasks include:

• 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.

We asked Agricultural Equipment Operators how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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62% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 57% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Agricultural Equipment Operators operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment. They adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.

A typical day for an Agricultural Equipment Operator will also include:

• Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.
• Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
• Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
• Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
• Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.

We asked some Agricultural Equipment Operators a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	76% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	1% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	99% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	19% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	2% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	21% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Agricultural Equipment Operators also spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers. They may also weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Agricultural Equipment Operators Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools. They might also Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.

In addition, they Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.

To some Agricultural Equipment Operators, it is also their responsibility to Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as an Agricultural Equipment Operator, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/farming-fishing-and-forestry/agricultural-workers.htm

http://afop.org/

http://www.csrees.usda.gov/

http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/