Directly supervises and coordinates activities of agricultural crop or horticultural workers.

This career is part of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources cluster Food Products and Processing Systems pathway.

A person in this career:

• Assigns duties, such as cultivation, irrigation, or harvesting of crops or plants, product packaging or grading, or equipment maintenance.
• Trains workers in techniques such as planting, harvesting, weeding, or insect identification and in the use of safety measures.
• Confers with managers to evaluate weather or soil conditions, to develop plans or procedures, or to discuss issues such as changes in fertilizers, herbicides, or cultivating techniques.
• Inspects crops, fields, or plant stock to determine conditions and need for cultivating, spraying, weeding, or harvesting.
• Reviews employees' work to evaluate quality and quantity.
• Observes workers to detect inefficient or unsafe work procedures or to identify problems, initiating corrective action as necessary.
• Drives or operates farm machinery, such as trucks, tractors, or self-propelled harvesters, to transport workers or supplies or to cultivate or harvest fields.
• Estimates labor requirements for jobs and plans work schedules accordingly.
• Plans or supervises infrastructure or collection maintenance functions, such as planting, fertilizing, pest or weed control, or landscaping.
• Reads inventory records, customer orders, or shipping schedules to determine required activities.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
• Work in this occupation involves walking or running more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Identifying color and seeing differences in color, including shades and brightness
• Seeing clearly at a distance
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours
• Overtime work
• Seasonal work
• Weekend work