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North Dakota: Legendary

Agricultural Supervisor  What They Do

Just the Facts


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 plan work schedules accordingly.
  • Plans or supervises infrastructure or collection maintenance functions, such as planting, fertilizing, pest or weed control, or landscaping.
  • Directs or assists with the adjustment or repair of farm equipment or machinery.

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

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Farm Owner Operator --
  • Field Operations Farm Manager --
  • Grower --
  • Harvest Supervisor --
  • Harvesting Supervisor --
  • Head Grower --
  • Orchard Manager -- Directs and coordinates, through subordinate supervisory personnel, orchard activities, such as orchard development, irrigation, chemical application, and harvesting to ensure that company production goals are met.
  • Pest Management Supervisor --
  • Supervisor Grower --
  • Team Foreman --