Agricultural Equipment Operators
Also known as: Ag Equipment Operator, Agricultural Equipment Operator, Agricultural Equipment Operators (+98 more)
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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What You'll Do
- Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
- 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.
- Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
- Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
- Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
- Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
- Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
Essential Skills
Career Fit Overview
Use this summary to sense whether the day to day rhythm and focus of this path line up with what energizes you.
Top passions
- Maker: Building and fixing energizes you. You like tangible results and practical tools.
- Organizer: Bringing order to data and processes satisfies you.
- Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
Common styles
Persistence, Dependability, Cooperation, Attention to Detail, Independence
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Key Abilities
This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:
Technologies & Tools
Work Environment & Style
Common Styles for This Career
- Persistence (High importance: 3.83/5)
- Dependability (High importance: 3.82/5)
- Cooperation (High importance: 3.8/5)
- Attention to Detail (High importance: 3.76/5)
- Independence (High importance: 3.75/5)
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Little or no previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for this career. Training is provided on the job.
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Also Known As
This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:
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