Baler vs custom harvester

The differences between balers and custom harvesters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a custom harvester has an average salary of $32,135, which is higher than the $31,924 average annual salary of a baler.

The top three skills for a baler include pallets, baling and waste paper. The most important skills for a custom harvester are harvest, CDL, and .

Baler vs custom harvester overview

	Baler	Custom Harvester
Yearly salary	$31,924	$32,135
Hourly rate	$15.35	$15.45
Growth rate	7%	1%
Number of jobs	8,979	1,003
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	43	40
Years of experience	4	-

Baler vs custom harvester salary

Balers and custom harvesters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Baler	Custom Harvester
Average salary	$31,924	$32,135
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $39,000	Between $17,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	-
Highest paying state	North Dakota	-
Best paying company	WestRock	-
Best paying industry	Media	-

Differences between baler and custom harvester education

There are a few differences between a baler and a custom harvester in terms of educational background:

	Baler	Custom Harvester
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Business	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Baler vs custom harvester demographics

Here are the differences between balers' and custom harvesters' demographics:

	Baler	Custom Harvester
Average age	43	40
Gender ratio	Male, 90.0% Female, 10.0%	Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.7% Asian, 2.3% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.1% Hispanic or Latino, 25.2% Asian, 1.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	4%	3%

Differences between baler and custom harvester duties and responsibilities

Baler example responsibilities.

Direct and leaded the baling operation.
Clean and inspect balers before they are sold to customers.
Tend automatic machine that stacks bales on pallets for storage or shipment.
Assist coworkers working on other balers to keep them from getting behind.
Operate paper baler/ operate forklift and bobcat, sorting line and perform material inventory.
Operate and troubleshoot automatic stackers.

Custom harvester example responsibilities.

Set up and manage GPS equipment for optimum harvesting efficiency.
Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
Ensure DNR compliance by maintaining different lakes according to specifications.

Baler vs custom harvester skills

Common baler skills

Pallets, 49%
Baling, 39%
Waste Paper, 4%
RAN, 2%
Tow Motor, 1%
Balers, 1%

Common custom harvester skills

Harvest, 79%
CDL, 21%

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Baler vs Custom Harvester

Updated January 8, 2025

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