What does a farm equipment operator do?
Farm equipment operator responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real farm equipment operator resumes:
- 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.
- Operate farm tractors attack to discs, planters, mowers, and spray equipment.
- Work cattle, work on equipment and run combine along with any thing they need done.
- Used occupational tools such as trailers, spreaders, land levelers, harvesters, haymaking machinery and seed drills.
- Field work include all preparation for planting through harvest on particular operation including liquid manure spreading.
- Demonstrate to groups how to properly attach planters and seed plates and how to hook up implements.
- Used hoists and cranes to lift work pieces to machine.
Farm equipment operator skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Farm Equipment Operators are proficient in Harvest, CDL, and Mowing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Farm Equipment Operators that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Harvest, 28%
Field work included all preparation for planting through harvest on particular operation including liquid manure spreading.
- CDL, 7%
operated some heavy equipment and CDL truck Driver
- Mowing, 5%
Supported forestry mowing operations, and conducted line clearance trimming operations.
- GPS, 5%
Organized field plot information by processing tractor GPS reports and reconciling records with paperwork
- Routine Maintenance, 5%
Performed routine maintenance checks on mobile equipment, facility equipment and incinerator by reporting malfunctions to supervisor.
- Equipment Maintenance, 4%
Operated farm equipment, acted as farm hand, and performed equipment maintenance.
Most farm equipment operators use their skills in "harvest," "cdl," and "mowing" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential farm equipment operator responsibilities here:
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a farm equipment operator to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "agricultural workers need excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery." Farm equipment operators often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "operated grain cart assisting combine operated john deere front end fork lift"
Listening skills. Many farm equipment operator duties rely on listening skills. "agricultural workers must listen carefully to ensure that they understand instructions from farmers and other agricultural managers and supervisors.," so a farm equipment operator will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways farm equipment operator responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated effectively with customers, ensuring optimal customer service by satisfying needs. "
Physical strength. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of farm equipment operators is physical strength. This skill is critical to many everyday farm equipment operator duties, as "agricultural workers must be strong enough to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "inspected fuel samples and physical inventories daily, fueled commercial aircraft, and maintained fuel farm. "
Mechanical skills. For certain farm equipment operator responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "mechanical skills." The day-to-day duties of a farm equipment operator rely on this skill, as "agricultural workers must be able to operate complex farm machinery." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what farm equipment operators do: "identify mechanical component breakdowns and create quick, long term solutions operated gps guided farming equipment. "
The three companies that hire the most farm equipment operators are:
- Stahlbush Island Farms4 farm equipment operators jobs
- Denali Water Solutions2 farm equipment operators jobs
- Pictsweet Farms1 farm equipment operators jobs
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Compare different farm equipment operators
Farm equipment operator vs. Baler
Also called agricultural workers, farm laborers are people who inspect and harvest crops. The workers irrigate soil on the farm and maintain their pumps, pipes, or ditches. They service and operate farm tools and machinery. Their job involves the maintenance of crops like vegetables, nuts, and fruits. They look after livestock on the farm like cows, chickens, etc. Also, they inspect the animals for the detection of symptoms of injuries or illnesses and administer vaccines for disease protection.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, farm equipment operator responsibilities require skills like "harvest," "cdl," "mowing," and "gps." Meanwhile a typical baler has skills in areas such as "pallets," "waste paper," "aug," and "amc." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Balers tend to make the most money working in the media industry, where they earn an average salary of $34,296. In contrast, farm equipment operators make the biggest average salary, $27,394, in the manufacturing industry.The education levels that balers earn slightly differ from farm equipment operators. In particular, balers are 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a farm equipment operator. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Farm equipment operator vs. Custom harvester
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, farm equipment operator responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "mowing," "gps," "disc," and "augers." Meanwhile, a custom harvester has duties that require skills in areas such as "mechanical problems," "pre trip," "building things," and "bondo." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Custom harvesters earn similar levels of education than farm equipment operators in general. They're 2.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Farm equipment operator vs. Fertilizer applicator
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from farm equipment operator resumes include skills like "harvest," "equipment maintenance," "disc," and "augers," whereas a fertilizer applicator is more likely to list skills in "application equipment," "nh3," "extreme heat," and "spring. "
Fertilizer applicators typically earn similar educational levels compared to farm equipment operators. Specifically, they're 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Farm equipment operator vs. Farm labour
Types of farm equipment operator
Updated January 8, 2025
