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.
- Tasks
- 17 tasks8 core, 9 supplemental
- Family
- Farming, Fishing & ForestryOne of its 14 occupations
- Code
- 45-2091.00SOC 2018: 45-2091
What the work is made of
8 core tasks and 9 supplemental, each quoted as published, with the survey it came from.
Core: central to the jobSupplemental: done by some, not all
- Task 1. Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.Core taskTask 13369Rated by 68 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 2. Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.Core taskTask 13358Rated by 67 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 3. Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.Core taskTask 13363Rated by 67 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 4. Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.Core taskTask 13356Rated by 70 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 5. Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.Core taskTask 13360Rated by 69 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 6. Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.Core taskTask 13359Rated by 70 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 7. Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.Core taskTask 13355Rated by 71 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 8. Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.Core taskTask 13364Rated by 70 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 9. Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.Supplemental taskTask 13362Rated by 67 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 10. Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.Supplemental taskTask 13361Rated by 66 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 11. Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.Supplemental taskTask 13365Rated by 66 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 12. Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.Supplemental taskTask 13368Rated by 68 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 13. Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.Supplemental taskTask 13367Rated by 67 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 14. Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.Supplemental taskTask 13366Rated by 67 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 15. Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.Supplemental taskTask 13370Rated by 65 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 16. Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.Supplemental taskTask 13371Rated by 68 people who do the job, August 2019
- Task 17. Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.Supplemental taskTask 13357Rated by 67 people who do the job, August 2019
Where this comes from
Quoted from the U.S. Department of Labor, and credited. Nothing on this page is written by us.
How we copy and credit sources- Published byO*NET 29.0, U.S. Department of LaborEmployment and Training Administration
- ClassificationStandard Occupational Classification 2018, 45-2091
- LicenseCC BY 4.0Free to copy and reuse, with credit
- Changed by usNothing.
More in Farming, Fishing & Forestry
13 other occupations in this family, each with its own page.
- Agricultural Inspectors16 tasks
- Agricultural Workers, All OtherNo tasks listed
- Animal Breeders21 tasks
- Fallers18 tasks
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse27 tasks
- Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals19 tasks
- First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers30 tasks
- Fishing and Hunting Workers30 tasks
- Forest and Conservation Workers17 tasks
- Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products5 tasks
- Log Graders and Scalers12 tasks
- Logging Equipment Operators9 tasks
- Logging Workers, All OtherNo tasks listed
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