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Career Details : First-Line Supervisors and Manager/Supervisors of Agricultural Crop Workers

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Description

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of agricultural crop workers. Manager/Supervisors are generally found in smaller establishments where they perform both supervisory and management functions, such as accounting, marketing, and personnel work, and may also engage in the same agricultural work as the workers they supervise.

Experience

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Education

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.

Training

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.

Tasks

  • Investigates grievances and settles disputes to maintain harmony among workers.
  • Issues farm implements and machinery, ladders, or containers to workers and collects them at end of workday.
  • Requisitions and purchases farm supplies, such as insecticides, machine parts or lubricants, and tools.
  • Prepares time, payroll, and production reports, such as farm conditions, amount of yield, machinery breakdowns, and labor problems.
  • Assigns duties, such as tilling soil, planting, irrigating, storing crops, and maintaining machines, and assigns fields or rows to workers.
  • Opens gate to permit entry of water into ditches or pipes and signals worker to start flow of water to irrigate fields.
  • Observes workers to detect inefficient and unsafe work procedures or identify problems, and initiates actions to correct improper procedure or solve problem.
  • Recruits, hires, and discharges workers.
  • Trains workers in methods of fieldwork and safety regulations and briefs them on identifying characteristic of insects and diseases.
  • Confers with manager to evaluate weather and soil conditions and to develop and revise plans and procedures.
  • Contracts with seasonal workers and farmers to provide employment and arranges for transportation, equipment, and living quarters.
  • Drives and operates farm machinery, such as trucks, tractors, or self-propelled harvesters, to transport workers or cultivate and harvest fields.
  • Directs or assists in adjustment, repair, and maintenance of farm machinery and equipment.
  • Determines number and kind of workers needed to perform required work, and schedules activities.
  • Inspects crops and fields to determine maturity, yield, infestation, or work requirements, such as cultivating, spraying, weeding, or harvesting.

    Related Careers

    Important Abilities

    General Work Activities

    Important Skills

    Frequent Work Context

    • Job-Required Social Interaction
    • Supervise, Coach, Train Others
    • Consequence of Error
    • Frustrating Circumstances
    • Importance of Being Sure All Is Done

    Related Majors

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    Environmental Horticultureadd Environmental Horticulture to MyFSA
    Environmental/Ornamental Horticultureadd Environmental/Ornamental Horticulture to MyFSA
    Field Cropsadd Field Crops to MyFSA
    Floriculture/Ornamental Horticultureadd Floriculture/Ornamental Horticulture to MyFSA
    Fruit Scienceadd Fruit Science to MyFSA
    General Plant Sciencesadd General Plant Sciences to MyFSA
    Horticultureadd Horticulture to MyFSA
    Landscape Horticultureadd Landscape Horticulture to MyFSA
    Ornamental Horticultureadd Ornamental Horticulture to MyFSA
    Ornamental Horticulture/Environmental Designadd Ornamental Horticulture/Environmental Design to MyFSA
    Plant Biologyadd Plant Biology to MyFSA
    Plant Protectionadd Plant Protection to MyFSA
    Plant Protection Scienceadd Plant Protection Science to MyFSA
    Plant Scienceadd Plant Science to MyFSA
    Pre-architectureadd Pre-architecture to MyFSA
    Pre-ministryadd Pre-ministry to MyFSA
    Vegetable Cropsadd Vegetable Crops to MyFSA
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