Agricultural workers play a significant role in the growing, harvesting and creating of food products. They ensure that food products are made available and brought to market and that we have a continuous supply of food to eat. Agricultural workers have various duties. These include growing and harvesting grains and other crops, planting and seeding, pruning, irrigating, harvesting, packing and loading crops for shipments, applying pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers to crops, repairing fences, preparing land or greenhouse beds, and more.
To be an agricultural worker, one must b able to have good physical strength and endurance as the job mostly involves manual labor. One must also be able to comprehend and follow safety procedures heavy and dangerous equipment is sometimes used. Experience and education are not usually necessary and most workers do not have a high school diploma. Agricultural workers often learn their jobs and acquire the skills as they gain more experience in the field. However, it helps to have relevant work experience or having related courses in college such as agricultural science. The education and training requirements for vary with the type of job required of an agricultural worker and on the agency. For instance, those who will breed or raise animals must have at least post-secondary training in animal breeding.
In 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were about 821,700 agricultural workers. Job prospect is predicted to remain good because of high turnover rates. The average salary for agricultural workers varies, depending on the type of agricultural worker. For example, farm laborers earned an average of $8.64 an hour in 2008 while animal breeders earned over $13.00 an hour.