Farm equipment operator vs custom harvester

The differences between farm equipment operators 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 $27,872 average annual salary of a farm equipment operator.

The top three skills for a farm equipment operator include harvest, CDL and mowing. The most important skills for a custom harvester are harvest, CDL, and .

Farm equipment operator vs custom harvester overview

	Farm Equipment Operator	Custom Harvester
Yearly salary	$27,872	$32,135
Hourly rate	$13.40	$15.45
Growth rate	1%	1%
Number of jobs	45,459	1,003
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Farm equipment operator vs custom harvester salary

Farm equipment operators and custom harvesters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Farm Equipment Operator	Custom Harvester
Average salary	$27,872	$32,135
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $17,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Aberdeen, SD	-
Highest paying state	North Dakota	-
Best paying company	The Wonderful Company	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between farm equipment operator and custom harvester education

There are a few differences between a farm equipment operator and a custom harvester in terms of educational background:

	Farm Equipment Operator	Custom Harvester
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Farm equipment operator vs custom harvester demographics

Here are the differences between farm equipment operators' and custom harvesters' demographics:

	Farm Equipment Operator	Custom Harvester
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 93.3% Female, 6.7%	Male, 96.2% Female, 3.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 1.7% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	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	3%	3%

Differences between farm equipment operator and custom harvester duties and responsibilities

Farm equipment operator example responsibilities.

Manage and conduct the baling, hauling, advertising, and selling of 2000 straw square bales a year from 2002-2006.
Operate combines, grain trucks, tractors, cultivator, and augers.
Landscape work (leaf pickup, lawn mowing, weed spraying, repairing fencing, etc . )
Utilize GPS while planting grain.
Used GPS to navigate farm equipment.
Use of tractor for raking and baling.

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.

Farm equipment operator vs custom harvester skills

Common farm equipment operator skills

Harvest, 28%
CDL, 7%
Mowing, 5%
GPS, 5%
Routine Maintenance, 5%
Equipment Maintenance, 4%

Common custom harvester skills

Harvest, 79%
CDL, 21%

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Farm Equipment Operator vs Custom Harvester

Updated January 8, 2025

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