Farming, Fishing & Forestry
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Also called: Baler Operator, Cutter Operator, Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator
US median pay
$41,730
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+8.6%
faster than average
Openings a year (US)
10,100
66,900 employed
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
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.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
- Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
- 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.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Operation and Control3.9/5
- Operations Monitoring3.8/5
- Troubleshooting3.1/5
- Repairing3.0/5
- Quality Control Analysis3.0/5
- Equipment Maintenance3.0/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Coordination2.8/5
Knowledge
- English Language3.4/5
- Mechanical2.9/5
- Public Safety and Security2.8/5
- Mathematics2.8/5
- Transportation2.7/5
- Production and Processing2.7/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 2 of 5 — Some preparation. Usually a high school diploma; some previous work experience or training helps.
Typical entry education (BLS): No formal educational credential.
Highest education of people in this job:
- Less than high school57%
- High school diploma19%
- Post-secondary certificate14%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.