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Date: 06/15/2025

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.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Load agricultural products into trucks, and drive trucks to market or storage facilities.
    • Clean work areas, and maintain grounds and landscaping.
    • Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.
    • Move containerized shrubs, plants, and trees, using wheelbarrows or tractors.
    • Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
    • Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
    • Dig, cut, and transplant seedlings, cuttings, trees, and shrubs.
    • Inspect plants and bud ties to assess quality.
    • Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
    • Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
    • Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
    • Tie and bunch flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees, wrap their roots, and pack them into boxes to fill orders.
    • Dig, cut, and transplant seedlings, cuttings, trees, and shrubs.
    • Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.
    • Maintain and repair irrigation and climate control systems.
    • Feel plants' leaves and note their coloring to detect the presence of insects or disease.
    • Maintain and repair irrigation and climate control systems.
    • Haul and spread topsoil, fertilizer, peat moss, and other materials to condition soil, using wheelbarrows or carts and shovels.
    • Regulate greenhouse conditions, and indoor and outdoor irrigation systems.
    • Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
    • Record information about plants and plant growth.
    • Sell and deliver plants and flowers to customers.
    • Maintain inventory, ordering materials as required.
    • Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
    • Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
    • Repair farm buildings, fences, and other structures.
    • Sell and deliver plants and flowers to customers.
    • Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
    • Dig, rake, and screen soil, filling cold frames and hot beds in preparation for planting.
    • Provide information and advice to the public regarding the selection, purchase, and care of products.

    Skills

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    Knowledge

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 34930/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 16.79/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 8,980
    • Yearly Projected Openings 1300

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Cooperation
    • Integrity
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Agricultural rollers
    • Agricultural tractors
    • Air compressors
    • Air dryers
    • All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
    • Axes
    • Battery chargers
    • Battery testers
    • Broadcast spreaders
    • Calipers
    • Cargo trucks
    • Claw hammer
    • Cleaning machines for seed or grain or dried leguminous vegetables
    • Coiled tubing injector heads
    • Combine harvesters
    • Compasses
    • Conveyor screw
    • Counters
    • Cultivators
    • Desktop computers
    • Digging bars
    • Disks
    • Dump trucks
    • Dusters
    • Fertilizer spreaders or distributors
    • Forestry increment borers
    • Forestry saws
    • Forklifts
    • Gas generators
    • Gas masks
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Goggles
    • Grease guns
    • Greenhouse irrigation equipment
    • Greenhouse ventilation equipment
    • Grinding machines
    • Grinding wheels
    • Hacksaw
    • Hammers
    • Hand sprayers
    • Hand trucks or accessories
    • Handheld thermometer
    • Harvesters
    • Hatchets
    • Haymaking machinery
    • Hedge clippers
    • Hex keys
    • High branch shears
    • Hoes
    • Industrial funnels
    • Integrated tool carriers
    • Irrigation overheads
    • Irrigation trickles
    • Label making tapes
    • Ladders
    • Lawnmowers
    • Levels
    • Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
    • Locking pliers
    • Masks or accessories
    • Measuring rods
    • Measuring wheels for distance
    • Moisture meters
    • Mowers
    • Notebook computers
    • Open end wrenches
    • Paint brushes
    • Paint sprayers
    • Picks
    • Pipe or tube cutter
    • Planters
    • Ploughs
    • Pocket calculator
    • Pollination equipment or supplies
    • Post hole digger
    • Power blowers
    • Power drills
    • Power saws
    • Power trimmers
    • Pressure or steam cleaners
    • Protective coveralls
    • Pry bars
    • Pull spring balances
    • Putty knives
    • Rakes
    • Respirators
    • Rubber mallet
    • Rulers
    • Saws
    • Screwdrivers
    • Secateurs or pruning shears
    • Seed drills
    • Seeder attachment
    • Sharpening stones or tools or kits
    • Shovels
    • Sledge hammer
    • Socket sets
    • Soil core sampling apparatus
    • Spades
    • Sprayers
    • Staple guns
    • Stationary separation equipment or parts or screens
    • Surface thermometers
    • Tape measures
    • Threshing machines
    • Transplanters
    • Trowels
    • Utility knives
    • Water sprinklers
    • Wheelbarrows
    • Wood chisels
    • pH meters

    Technology

    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Internet browser software
    • Mobile location based services software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software
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