What does a Farm Equipment Operator do?

According to people in this career, the main tasks are...

TaskImportance
Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
90%
Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
88%
Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
86%
Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
86%
Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
85%
Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
84%
Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
83%
Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
83%
Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.
83%
Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
81%
Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
80%
Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.
80%
Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.
80%
Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.
80%
Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.
79%
Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.
79%
Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
78%