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Career overview · SOC 45-2092

Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use 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.

Also called: Farm Laborer · Farmer · Field Irrigation Worker · Gardener · Greenhouse Worker · Grower

Median pay (national)
$35,690
$32,260–$46,370 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
261,690
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
-3.3%
~71,700 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential

What the numbers say

Refit analysis ·Pay for farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse shows a relatively narrow range: the top 10% earn $46,370 versus $32,260 at the bottom 10% — 1.4x. The median of $35,690 leaves roughly 30% 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 -3.3% from 2024 to 2034 — a projected decline, against +3% across all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 71,700 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 52 states with released data, Wyoming pays the most for this role (median $44,760, +25% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $21,460 — a 109% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.

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Top skills employers ask for

Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.

  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Writing
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Mathematics
  • Science

What they actually do

Core O*NET tasks for this role.

  • Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
  • Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
  • Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
  • Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.
  • Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
  • Load agricultural products into trucks, and drive trucks to market or storage facilities.
  • Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
  • Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.
  • Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
  • Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.

Tools & technology

  • BCL Landview Systems WinCrop
  • Farm Works Software Trac
  • Global positioning system GPS software
  • IBM Lotus Notes
  • Web browser software
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word

Knowledge areas

  • Food Production
  • Biology
  • Mechanical
  • Administration and Management
  • Chemistry
  • Mathematics
  • English Language
  • Production and Processing