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.
Also called: Baler Operator · Cutter Operator · Equipment Operator · Farm Equipment Operator · Hay Baler · Loader Operator
Median pay (national)
$42,580
$31,240–$57,790 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
30,940
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
+7.7%
~10,500 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for agricultural equipment operators shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $57,790 versus $31,240 at the bottom 10% — 1.8x. The median of $42,580 leaves roughly 36% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change +7.7% from 2024 to 2034 — faster than the 3% all-occupation average. Even so, BLS projects about 10,500 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 43 states with released data, Montana pays the most for this role (median $53,900, +27% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $20,560 — a 162% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.
Tailor your resume to Agricultural Equipment Operators
Honest tailoring
See how your resume lines up with Agricultural Equipment Operators
Refit re-angles your real experience toward this role using the skills above — and never invents skills you don't have. A no-fabrication gate checks every change before you see it.
Free. No account needed to see your first re-fit.
Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Mathematics
- Learning Strategies
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
- Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
- Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
- 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.
- Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
- Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.
Tools & technology
- Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager
- Martens Farms Farm Site Mate
- Martens Farms Farm Trac
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
Knowledge areas
- English Language
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- Transportation
- Production and Processing
- Customer and Personal Service
- Chemistry