What does an orchard worker do?
Orchard worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real orchard worker resumes:
- General farm operations including health checks and care of calves, manage cleanliness of barns, milking
- Wait on customers, run various stations on farm and operate various lawn care equipment.
- Increase next seasons harvest by pruning apple trees.
- Dig trenches, set ground rods and wire, minor concrete work, traffic control, set cabinets, install pipes.
- Repair sprinklers and broken pipe fittings using hammers and wrenches.
Orchard worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 66% of Orchard Workers are proficient in Harvest, Mowing, and RAN. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Listening skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Orchard Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Harvest, 66%
Assisted U-pick customers with harvest and at the cash register.
- Mowing, 29%
Care of property, maintenance, brush clearing, mowing, construction, cleaning, care of animals, etc.
- RAN, 5%
Cleaned barn milked cows ran spreader and tractor
Most orchard workers use their skills in "harvest," "mowing," and "ran" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential orchard worker responsibilities here:
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an orchard worker to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "agricultural workers need excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery." Orchard workers often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "operated farm equipment such as forklifts, 4wheelers, and trucks. "
Listening skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling orchard worker duties is listening skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "agricultural workers must listen carefully to ensure that they understand instructions from farmers and other agricultural managers and supervisors." According to an orchard worker resume, here's how orchard workers can utilize listening skills in their job responsibilities: "followed safety procedures and communicated with supervisor. "
Physical strength. orchard workers are also known for physical strength, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to orchard worker responsibilities, because "agricultural workers must be strong enough to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops." An orchard worker resume example shows how physical strength is used in the workplace: "worked long hours doing physical labor managed social media for the farm"
Mechanical skills. A big part of what orchard workers do relies on "mechanical skills." You can see how essential it is to orchard worker responsibilities because "agricultural workers must be able to operate complex farm machinery." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical orchard worker tasks: "set up augers, bin sites, mechanical repairs, and service equipment. "
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Compare different orchard workers
Orchard worker vs. Harvester
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between orchard workers and harvester. For instance, orchard worker responsibilities require skills such as "mowing," "food preparation," "hydraulic systems," and "pest control." Whereas a harvester is skilled in "wine," "team work," "harvesters," and "farm work." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Harvesters tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $39,805. In contrast, orchard workers make the biggest average salary, $30,419, in the education industry.On average, harvesters reach similar levels of education than orchard workers. Harvesters are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Updated January 8, 2025
