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Agricultural Equipment Operators

Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.

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A look at the work

  • Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
  • Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
  • Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
  • Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
  • Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
  • Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
  • Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
  • Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.

A selection of source-listed tasks; duties vary by role and employer.

Interests involved in this work

These source scores describe occupational work activities. They are separate from your personal test results.

Hands-on

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

7.0 / 7

Investigative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

2.5 / 7

Creative

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.0 / 7

Helping people

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.0 / 7

Enterprising

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

1.3 / 7

Organizing

2026-02 · Machine Learning/Expert

3.7 / 7

Skills to explore

Source-reported importance on a 1–5 scale. Try a course, project or conversation to learn what these skills involve.

Operation and Control

Controlling operations of equipment or systems.

2019-08

3.9 / 5

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

2019-08

3.8 / 5

Troubleshooting

Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

2019-08

3.1 / 5

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

2019-08

3.0 / 5

Equipment Maintenance

Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.

2019-08

3.0 / 5

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

2019-08

3.0 / 5

Repairing

Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.

2019-08

3.0 / 5

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

2019-08

2.9 / 5

Social Perceptiveness

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

2019-08

2.9 / 5

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

2019-08

2.8 / 5

Plan a small next step

Talk to someone doing this work, look for a supervised activity, and explore the subjects that interest you. Admission, licensing and current program requirements should be confirmed with the relevant institutions.

Source preparation category: Job Zone 2 of 5 · 2026-02. This category describes typical preparation, not your eligibility.

Related study fields

Source crosswalk connections are research leads, not required qualifications.

Agricultural Power Machinery Operation →

Explore all related study fields →

Source & methodology

O*NET-SOC code 45-2091.00 · Database 31.0 · Retrieved Oct 14, 2026. Dates on individual observations describe their source periods.

How interest exploration matching works →

Data: O*NET® 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0. StudyIndex normalizes the presentation and adds exploration features; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these additions.