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Crop Farmworker/Laborer

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AVG. SALARY

$33,500

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EDUCATION

No standard requirement

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JOB OUTLOOK

Decreasing

What They Do

Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse Career Video

About This Career

Manually plants, cultivates, and harvests vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Uses 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.

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

A person in this career:

  • Harvests plants, and transplants or pots and labels them.
  • Operates tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.
  • Sets up and operates irrigation equipment.
  • Repairs and maintains farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
  • Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
  • Cleans work areas, and maintains grounds and landscaping.
  • Sells and delivers plants and flowers to customers.
  • Sows grass seed, or plants plugs of grass.
  • Informs farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
  • Directs and monitors the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

  • You would often handle loads up to 50 lbs., sometimes up to 100 lbs. You will need a lot of strength at this level.
  • Conditions are very hot (above 90 F) or very cold (under 32 F)
  • Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation requires being outside most of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
  • Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

  • Maintaining a body position that prevents falling when in an unstable position
  • Moving the arms, legs and torso together when the whole body is in motion
  • Using muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring
  • Short periods of running, jumping, or throwing
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching
  • 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
  • Exerting oneself physically over long periods of time without getting out of breath
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
  • Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

  • Seasonal work

Specialty and Similar Careers

Careers that are more detailed or close to this career:

  • Farmer
  • Farm Laborer
  • Field Irrigation Worker
  • Harvester
  • Orchard Worker
  • Picker — Selects warehouse merchandise to replace items sold by retail stores the day before.
  • Nursery Worker
  • Gardener
  • Greenhouse Worker
  • Grower

Contact

  • Email Support
  • 1-800-GO-TO-XAP (1-800-468-6927)
    From outside the U.S., please call +1 (424) 750-3900
  • North Dakota Career Resource Network
    ndcrn@nd.gov | (701) 328-9733

Support