Farming, Fishing & Forestry
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
Also called: Farm Laborer, Farmer, Field Irrigation Worker, Gardener
US median pay
$35,660
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-2.4%
declining
Openings a year (US)
72,500
546,800 employed
Typical entry education
No formal educational credential
Preparation 2/5 · Some preparation
What this job is
Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
What they do day to day
- Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
- Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
- Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
- Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
- Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
- Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
- Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
- Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
- Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.
- Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Operations Monitoring3.0/5
- Time Management2.8/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.8/5
- Repairing2.8/5
- Operation and Control2.8/5
- Troubleshooting2.6/5
- Quality Control Analysis2.6/5
- Equipment Maintenance2.6/5
Knowledge
- Food Production2.8/5
- Biology2.8/5
- Mechanical2.7/5
- Administration and Management2.7/5
- Chemistry2.6/5
- Mathematics2.6/5
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 school39%
- High school diploma29%
- Bachelor's degree15%
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.