Planting supervisor vs plant superintendent

The differences between planting supervisors and plant superintendents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a planting supervisor and a plant superintendent. Additionally, a plant superintendent has an average salary of $95,149, which is higher than the $41,894 average annual salary of a planting supervisor.

The top three skills for a planting supervisor include OSHA, safety procedures and preventative maintenance. The most important skills for a plant superintendent are plant safety, production supervisors, and OSHA.

Planting supervisor vs plant superintendent overview

	Planting Supervisor	Plant Superintendent
Yearly salary	$41,894	$95,149
Hourly rate	$20.14	$45.74
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	59,990	31,744
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	46	48
Years of experience	2	2

What does a planting supervisor do?

Planting Supervisors are responsible for administering the operations of cultivating and growing plants, be it for food, materials, comfort, or decorative beauty. Their duties include monitoring plants' health, ensuring proper feeding and watering of plants, supervising the mowing, trimming, fertilizing, mulching, edging, and weeding gardens, and facilitating trees and bushes pruning and trimming. Planting Supervisors are also involved in husbandry, managing disease and pest programs, budgeting, and updating work progress reports. They must keep abreast of the current horticulture developments in their area of specialty.

What does a plant superintendent do?

Plant superintendents must have skills in operations, productions, and management. They also need a 4-year degree in business or industrial management. Those who choose this career will be called upon to oversee a plant's manufacturing processes and to recommend improvements to increase productivity. They also enforce all state and federal regulations for plant operations and employee safety.

Planting supervisor vs plant superintendent salary

Planting supervisors and plant superintendents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Planting Supervisor	Plant Superintendent
Average salary	$41,894	$95,149
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $63,000	Between $67,000 And $134,000
Highest paying City	Juneau, AK	West Sacramento, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Lakeland Electric	Koch Industries
Best paying industry	Energy	Finance

Differences between planting supervisor and plant superintendent education

There are a few differences between a planting supervisor and a plant superintendent in terms of educational background:

	Planting Supervisor	Plant Superintendent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Northwestern University

Planting supervisor vs plant superintendent demographics

Here are the differences between planting supervisors' and plant superintendents' demographics:

	Planting Supervisor	Plant Superintendent
Average age	46	48
Gender ratio	Male, 92.4% Female, 7.6%	Male, 96.9% Female, 3.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 5.4% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 7.6% White, 69.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between planting supervisor and plant superintendent duties and responsibilities

Planting supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage and perform training per GMP and AIB standards.
Manage the USDA paperwork and daily inspections of the plant.
Manage all aspects such as payroll, vacation, discipline, training and safety issues for 118 plant employees.
Need to make sure that the facility are inspection ready at all times with USDA and FDA audits.
Help with plant inspections including SQF and HACCP.
Assist and troubleshoot in any operation that may have cause down time.

Plant superintendent example responsibilities.

Manage employee's schedules, time off requests, vacation and payroll with the KRONOS time management software.
Establish safety training program and documentation to satisfy OSHA requirements.
Direct and monitor plant personnel in accordance with OSHA regulations and company safety program.
Function as plant buyer, scheduler, maintenance, and QC lab tech.
Assist machine shop employee's adherence to GMP regulations and completing all necessary paperwork.
Organize training programs for the production personnel GMP, safety compliance and S.O.P's.

Planting supervisor vs plant superintendent skills

Common planting supervisor skills

OSHA, 9%
Safety Procedures, 6%
Preventative Maintenance, 5%
Plant Operations, 5%
Lean Manufacturing, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 4%

Common plant superintendent skills

Plant Safety, 10%
Production Supervisors, 9%
OSHA, 6%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
Plant Operations, 6%
Lean Manufacturing, 5%

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Planting Supervisor
Planting Supervisor vs Plant Superintendent

Updated January 8, 2025

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