Agricultural workers have a range of responsibilities, from planting, cultivating, grading, and sorting agricultural products to inspecting agricultural commodities and facilities. They may work with food crops, animals, or trees, shrubs, and plants. Depending on their jobs, they may work outdoors or indoors.

Overall employment of agricultural workers is projected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations over the 2000-10 period-primarily reflecting the outlook for farmworkers, who constitute 9 out of 10 agricultural workers. Low wages, the physical demands of the work, and high job turnover should result in abundant job opportunities.

Continued consolidation of farms and technological advancements in farm equipment will dampen employment growth. Still, farms remaining in operation will still need workers to help with farms’ operations, and farm labor contractors’ employment of farmworkers is expected to increase rapidly. Farmworkers in landscape and horticultural services should have among the most rapid job growth, reflecting the demand for agricultural services such as landscaping.

Advancement depends on motivation and experience. Farmworkers who work hard and quickly, have good communication skills, and take an interest in the business may advance to crew leader or other supervisory positions. Some agricultural workers may aspire to become farm, ranch, and other agricultural managers, or farmers or ranchers themselves.

Knowledge of working a farm as a business can help agricultural workers become farm and home management advisors. Those who earn a college degree in agricultural science could become agricultural and food scientists.

Employers also look for responsible, self-motivated individuals, because agricultural workers sometimes work with little supervision.

Farmworkers learn through short-term on-the-job training. In nurseries, entry-level workers must be able to follow directions and learn proper planting procedures. If driving is an essential part of a job, employers look for applicants with a good driving record and some experience driving a truck. Workers who deal directly with customers must get along well with people.

56% of farmworkers do not have a high school diploma, compared with only about 13% of all workers in the economy. The proportion of workers without a high school diploma is particularly high in the crop production sector, where there are more labor-intensive establishments.

Farmworkers enjoy a somewhat independent lifestyle working with animals or on the land. Benefits include the wide-open physical expanse, the variability of day-to-day work, and the rural setting. However, hours are generally uneven and often long; work cannot be delayed when crops must be planted and harvested, or when animals must be sheltered and fed. Weekend work is common, and farmworkers may work a 6- or 7-day week during planting and harvesting seasons.