What does an agriculture inspector do?

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

An agriculture inspector scrutinizes agricultural food products and the processing methods for safe consumption. Agriculture inspectors should have knowledge about the regulations set by the FDA for the proper implementation of the rules. Oftentimes, they are in charge of the issuance of the official grades for the standards. They also take action whenever a problem arises to come up with a remedy before the contaminated products are marketed. Also, it is their job to audit and assess different aspects of livestock production.

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Agriculture inspector responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real agriculture inspector resumes:

Insure product meet federal regulations for processing (GMP) as well as standards of identity.
Inspect agricultural commodities or relate operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
Assist with administration of seasonal examinations to obtain certification for inspection of designate commodities.
Conduct dimensional and visual inspections procedures on CMM machines to ensure geometrical characteristics of the product are in specification.
Audit annually by the FDA for performance quality assessments and standardization.

Agriculture inspector skills and personality traits

We calculated that 20% of Agriculture Inspectors are proficient in USDA, Disease Control, and Inspection Reports. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Math skills, and Mechanical skills.

We break down the percentage of Agriculture Inspectors that have these skills listed on their resume here:

USDA, 20%
Provide interpretation of USDA Processed Products Branch regulations and procedures.
Disease Control, 14%
Maintain pest and disease control, as well as pesticide safety.
Inspection Reports, 11%
Enhanced quality control/assurance by analyzing inspection reports and evaluations, application of codes, and standards and specification.
Agricultural Products, 10%
Inspected agricultural products on shipping point and Market.
Federal Regulations, 10%
Enforced both State of Arizona and Federal regulations on all produce that I inspected.
Insect, 7%
Manage Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter Trapping Program which includes nine Insect Detection Specialists.

"usda," "disease control," and "inspection reports" are among the most common skills that agriculture inspectors use at work. You can find even more agriculture inspector responsibilities below, including:

Math skills. Many agriculture inspector duties rely on math skills. "knowledge of basic math is important for measuring, calibrating, and calculating specifications in quality control testing.," so an agriculture inspector will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways agriculture inspector responsibilities rely on math skills: "machine operator- lap grinder, polish jack ndt inspector mathematical bearing match special process operator- black oxide"

Mechanical skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of agriculture inspectors is mechanical skills. This skill is critical to many everyday agriculture inspector duties, as "quality control inspectors use tools and machinery when testing products." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "tested assembly line for any mechanical defaults. "

Physical strength. A big part of what agriculture inspectors do relies on "physical strength." You can see how essential it is to agriculture inspector responsibilities because "quality control inspectors may be required to lift or maneuver heavy production materials or finished products." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical agriculture inspector tasks: "achieved aci certification in field testing, concrete strength and aggregate testing. "

Technical skills. A commonly-found skill in agriculture inspector job descriptions, "technical skills" is essential to what agriculture inspectors do. Agriculture inspector responsibilities rely on this skill because "to ensure that products and parts meet quality standards, inspectors must understand the relevant blueprints, technical documents, and manuals." You can also see how agriculture inspector duties rely on technical skills in this resume example: "provide technical guidance on food safety regulations, microbiological concepts, and working knowledge for industry partners. "

All agriculture inspector skills

The three companies that hire the most agriculture inspectors are:

State of Georgia: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia63 agriculture inspectors jobs
County of San Joaquin, CA1 agriculture inspectors jobs
State of Arizona1 agriculture inspectors jobs

Choose from 10+ customizable agriculture inspector resume templates

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Compare different agriculture inspectors

Agriculture inspector vs. Consumer safety inspector

Consumer safety inspectors work in poultry, meat, and egg processing plants owned by one or more private individuals. Their job is to ensure that the plant operations follow the written HACCP system, processing, and sanitation plans. They also work with different people to discuss how to resolve problems, discuss their understanding of the HACCP, and be updated on other food safety and consumer protection requirements. Part of their duties is to participate in performing tests to detect microbes like salmonella in their meat and poultry products.

We looked at the average agriculture inspector salary and compared it with the wages of a consumer safety inspector. Generally speaking, consumer safety inspectors are paid $4,749 higher than agriculture inspectors per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between agriculture inspectors and consumer safety inspectors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like federal regulations, commodities, and food products.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, agriculture inspector responsibilities require skills like "usda," "disease control," "inspection reports," and "agricultural products." Meanwhile a typical consumer safety inspector has skills in areas such as "ssop," "microbes," "food safety programs," and "plant operations." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Consumer safety inspectors tend to make the most money working in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $45,625. In contrast, agriculture inspectors make the biggest average salary, $50,978, in the government industry.The education levels that consumer safety inspectors earn slightly differ from agriculture inspectors. In particular, consumer safety inspectors are 6.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an agriculture inspector. Additionally, they're 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Learn more about agriculture inspectors vs consumer safety inspectors.

Agriculture inspector vs. Food inspector

The Food Inspector focuses on securing all consumers' health and safety from a company's food products. They must enforce all food standards outlined by the Food and Drug Administration. Other responsibilities include inspection of slaughterhouses, food production facilities, and other food-related establishments if they follow safety and health regulations and protocols. The Food Inspector determines if the establishment is safe to sell food products and if they have permits to operate. Their job also requires them to ensure that all food sold is fit for consumption and safe according to federal laws.

On average, food inspectors earn a $1,790 lower salary than agriculture inspectors a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Agriculture inspectors and food inspectors both require similar skills like "usda," "federal regulations," and "federal laws" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that agriculture inspector responsibilities requires skills like "disease control," "inspection reports," "agricultural products," and "insect." But a food inspector might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "food handling," "food preparation," "pet," and "sanitation procedures."

Food inspectors earn a lower average salary than agriculture inspectors. But food inspectors earn the highest pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $44,660. Additionally, agriculture inspectors earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $50,978 annually.In general, food inspectors achieve similar levels of education than agriculture inspectors. They're 0.3% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Agriculture inspector vs. Health inspector food

On average scale, health inspector foods bring in lower salaries than agriculture inspectors. In fact, they earn a $725 lower salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on agriculture inspectors and health inspector foods resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "federal laws," "food products," and "fda.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, agriculture inspectors are more likely to have skills like "usda," "disease control," "inspection reports," and "agricultural products." But a health inspector food is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "public health," "sales floor," and "mathematical analysis."

Health inspector foods typically earn similar educational levels compared to agriculture inspectors. Specifically, they're 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Agriculture inspector vs. Land inspector

Land inspectors tend to earn a lower pay than agriculture inspectors by an average of $282 per year.Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. An agriculture inspector uses "usda," "disease control," "inspection reports," and "agricultural products." Land inspectors are more likely to have duties that require skills in "inspection sheets," "construction sites," "code violations," and "construction phase. "land inspectors reach lower levels of education compared to agriculture inspectors, in general. The difference is that they're 6.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of agriculture inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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