Agricultural workers play a large role in getting food, plants, and other agricultural products to market. Working mostly on farms or ranches or in nurseries, slaughterhouses, or ports of entry, these workers have numerous and diverse duties. Among their activities are planting and harvesting crops, installing irrigation, delivering animals, and making sure that our food is safe.
More than 8 out of 10 agricultural workers are farmworkers and laborers. Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse perform numerous activities related to growing and harvesting grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, fiber, trees, shrubs, and other crops. Among their activities are planting and seeding, pruning, irrigating, harvesting, and packing and loading crops for shipment. Farmworkers also apply pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to crops; repair fences; and help with irrigation. Nursery and greenhouse workers prepare land or greenhouse beds for growing horticultural products, such as trees, plants, flowers, and sod. Their duties include planting, watering, pruning, weeding, and spraying the plants. They may cut, roll, and stack sod; stake trees; tie, wrap, and pack plants to fill orders; and dig up or move field-grown and containerized shrubs and trees.
Farmworkers, farm and ranch animals care for live farm, ranch, or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, poultry, finfish, shellfish, and bees. The animals are usually raised to supply such products as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. The farmworkers' duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, castrating, branding, debeaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. On dairy farms, farmworkers operate milking machines; they also may maintain records on animals, examine animals to detect diseases and injuries, assist in delivering animals at their birth, and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. Daily duties of such farmworkers include cleaning and maintaining animal housing areas.
Other farmworkers known as agricultural equipment operators operate a variety of farm equipment used in plowing, sowing, maintaining, and harvesting agricultural products. The equipment may include tractors, fertilizer spreaders, haybines, raking equipment, balers, combines, and threshers, as well as trucks. These farmworkers also operate machines used in moving and treating crops after their harvest, such as conveyor belts, loading machines, separators, cleaners, and dryers. In addition, they may make adjustments and minor repairs to equipment. When not operating machines, agricultural equipment operators may perform other farm duties that are not typical of other farmworkers.
Agricultural inspectors, another type of agricultural worker, are employed by Federal and State governments to ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing the health, quality, and safety of agricultural commodities. Inspectors also make sure that the facilities and equipment used in processing the commodities meet quality standards. Meat safety is one of their prime responsibilities, and they try to ensure that the meat we eat is free of harmful ingredients or bacteria. In meat-processing facilities, inspectors may collect samples of suspected diseased animals or materials and send the samples to a laboratory for identification and analysis. They also may inspect livestock to help determine the effectiveness of medication and feeding programs. Some inspectors are stationed at export and import sites to weigh and inspect agricultural shipments leaving and entering the country to ensure the quality and quantity of the shipments. A few work at logging sites, making sure that safety regulations are enforced.
Graders and sorters of agricultural products examine agricultural commodities being prepared to be packed for market and classify them according to quality or size guidelines. They grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition and discard inferior or defective products. For example, graders sort eggs by color and size and also examine the fat content, or marbling, of beef, assigning a grade of "Prime," "Choice," or something else, as appropriate. The grade that is assigned determines the price at which the commodity may be sold.
Animal breeders select and breed animals using their knowledge of genetics and animal science to produce offspring with desired traits and characteristics, such as chickens that lay more eggs, pigs that produce leaner meat, and sheep with more desirable wool. Animal breeders also raise and breed animals simply to sell their offspring for money, including cats and dogs and other household pets. The larger and more expensive animals that are bred, such as horses and cattle, are usually bred through artificial insemination, which requires the taking of semen from the male and then inseminating the female with it. Using this process insures better results and also enables one prized male to sire many more offspring than through conventional mating. To know when and which animals to breed, breeders keep detailed records, including the health of the animal, its size and weight, and the amount and quality of the product produced by the animal. They also keep track of the traits of the offspring. Some breeders work as consultants for a number of farmers, while others breed and raise their own animals for eventual sale or breeding. For breeders that raise animals, they may also have to care and clean animal shelters, feed and water the animals, and oversee their day-to-day health or supervise others that perform these jobs. Additionally, animal breeders read journals and newsletters to remain current with the latest information on animal breeding and veterinary advice.
Common Tasks
- Advise farmers and growers of development programs or new equipment and techniques to aid in quality production.
- Collect samples from animals, plants, or products, and route them to laboratories for microbiological assessment, ingredient verification, and other testing.
- Compare product recipes with government-approved formulas or recipes in order to determine acceptability.
- Direct and monitor the quarantine and treatment or destruction of plants and plant products.
- Examine, weigh, and measure commodities such as poultry, eggs, meat, and seafood in order to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
- Inquire about pesticides or chemicals to which animals may have been exposed.
- Inspect agricultural commodities and related operations, as well as fish and logging operations for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
- Inspect and test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, and infestations, and to determine the quality of products or animals.
- Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat.
- Inspect livestock to determine effectiveness of medication and feeding programs.
- Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees.
- Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
- Label and seal graded products, and issue official grading certificates.
- Monitor the grading performed by company employees in order to verify conformance to standards.
- Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering and meat processing plants.
- Provide consultative services in areas such as equipment and product evaluation, plant construction and layout, and food safety systems.
- Review and monitor foreign product inspection systems in countries of origin to ensure equivalence to the U.S. system.
- Set labeling standards and approve labels for meat and poultry products.
- Set standards for the production of meat and poultry products, and for food ingredients, additives, and compounds used to prepare and package products.
- Take emergency actions such as closing production facilities if product safety is compromised.
- Testify in legal proceedings.
- Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
- Write reports of findings and recommendations, and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken.
Work Activities
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