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Alabama Department of Labor

Labor Market Information Division
SOC: 45-2091 Agricultural Equipment Operators
Drive and control farm equipment to till soil and to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops. 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.
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Education: These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
OJT: Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Tasks: Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions. Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps. Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery. Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment. Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery. Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities. Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks. Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers. Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools. Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops. Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.
License: License not required.
Outlook: Good
Alabama Employment Outlook
Alabama Wage Data
Hourly Wage   Annual Wage
Entry $8.95   Entry $18,602.00
Mean $11.35   Mean $23,615.00
Experience $12.55 Experience $26,111.00

The data is based on the May 2017 Occupation Employment Survey employment and wage estimate file. The wages have been aged using the most current ECI factors reflecting wages as of June 2018.

Alabama Projections
Estimated Employment 2016Projected Employment 2026Annual Average OpeningsAnnual Growth Rate
2,2602,410365.64
Related Occupations: Postsecondary Institutions With Programs:
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Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Welders, Cutters, and Welder Fitters
No postsecondary schools reported programs.
Occupational Videos
45-2091.00 Agricultural Equipment Operators