Career Overview
Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
Also Known As
- Greenhouse Worker
- Grower
- Harvester
- Nursery Worker
Alternate Job Titles
- Agriculture Laborer
- Agriculture Worker
- Apple Picker
- Apple Thinner
- Apple Turner
- Asparagus Cutter
- Bale Sewer
- Baller
- Bean Picker
- Beet Topper
- Beet Worker
- Berry and Nut Harvester
- Berry Picker
- Berry Planter
- Bog Worker
What You'll Do
In this role, your typical responsibilities include:
- Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
- Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
- Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
- Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
- Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
- Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
- Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
Key Abilities
This career requires key abilities in:
- Trunk Strength
- Control Precision
- Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Extent Flexibility
- Multilimb Coordination
- Manual Dexterity
- Static Strength
- Finger Dexterity
- Near Vision
- Stamina
Work Style
People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:
- Dependability
- Perseverance
- Attention to Detail
- Integrity
- Stress Tolerance
What Matters in This Career
This career tends to satisfy these work values:
- Support
- Relationships
- Achievement
- Working Conditions
- Independence
Education & Preparation
Typical Education: Less than a High School Diploma
On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month
Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Technology You'll Use
Popular Technologies & Software
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
Tools & Equipment
- Adjustable hand wrenches
- Adjustable widemouth pliers
- Air compressors
- All terrain vehicles ATV
- Allen wrenches
- Anvil pruners
- Arborist saws
- Battery booster cables
- Battery power testers
- Bed formers
- Bed rollers
- Bench grafting knives
- Bow saws
- Budding knives
- Bulb planters
Work Environment
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions
- Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
- Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures
Salary & Job Market
| Salary Percentile | Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | $32,260 |
| Median | $35,690 |
| Top Earners (90th percentile) | $46,370 |
Workers Employed Nationally: 261,690
Related Careers
If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Education: Less than a High School Diploma
Median Salary: $42,580
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
Education: Some College Courses
Median Salary: $36,150
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
Education: Less than a High School Diploma
Median Salary: $35,430
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
Education: Less than a High School Diploma
Median Salary: $38,090
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $45,200
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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.