Occupations · Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 45-2091.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 138% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $34,220 | 900 |
| Fresno, CA | $37,760 | 760 |
| Salinas, CA | $40,600 | 730 |
| Visalia-Porterville, CA | $37,700 | 650 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $37,600 | 600 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $41,510 | 480 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $49,160 | 470 |
| Napa, CA | $48,710 | 420 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA | $45,030 | 330 |
| Merced, CA | $39,190 | 290 |
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | $39,620 | 290 |
| Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA | $41,820 | 280 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: No formal educational credential · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- 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.
- Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
- Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.
- Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
- Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
- Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2019-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2019-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Operate drones to monitor crop health, growth and pest infestations, and apply targeted treatments.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
Get this as a personal report
The same sourced evidence, recut for the closest published view of your city, state or industry, as a dated PDF.
Free page vs. the $29 report
The page above is a public national reference: it is the same for every reader. The $29 report uses the location or industry you name, states the exact BLS cut used, and packages five decision-focused sections as a PDF. Choose $49 when you need a broader comparison of industries, places, changes and next moves.
What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
Now listed 3
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| land-based machinery operator | 8341.2 | exact |
| crop production worker | 9213.1 | close |
| agricultural machinery technician | 7233.8.1 | close |
| forestry machinery technician | 7233.8.2 | close |
| land-based machinery technician | 7233.8 | close |
| aquaculture cage mooring worker | 9216.1 | broader |
| cotton gin operator | 8151.1 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
Keep exploring
See labor-market evidence in motion.
Watch short Tamhu stories about pay, growth and how work changes — then return to the source data here.
Watch this occupation
This job has changed before and it will change again. We'll email you when the data moves — a tool appears, a skill gains weight, the pay distribution shifts. Free, and one click to stop.
Check your inbox — your watch starts only after you confirm.
We send data, not advice. No sharing, no resale. Privacy