Agricultural Worker: your questions, answered

It depends almost entirely on the setting. On a vegetable farm you might transplant seedlings, hoe weeds, lay drip tape and harvest into bins that a tractor carries to the edge of the field. In a packing house you'll stand at a sorting table pulling culls, pack boxes to a count and stack pallets. At a nursery you pot, prune, move plants on carts and load trucks. On a dairy or cattle operation you feed, bed stalls, move animals and help at milking. Most jobs mix some of these as the season changes.

Usually not for a general crew job. Most farms train on the first day, and a crew lead will show you how they want it done. What they're really checking is whether you'll show up every morning, keep working in the heat and follow directions around equipment. If you've done any steady physical work, like roofing, warehouse picking or landscaping, say so. Time around tractors, forklifts or animals moves you up the list, and so does speaking the language most of the crew speaks.

You'll be paid hourly, by the piece or a mix of both. Piece rate means you earn per bin, bucket, tray or box, and a fast picker in a heavy crop can do well while a thin field or a rain delay cuts into the week. Many states require piece-rate pay to meet a minimum hourly floor, and overtime rules for farm work are different from other jobs and vary by state. The page shows local pay figures. What moves your number most is the crop, your speed, whether you run equipment and how long the season lasts.

Field harvest is seasonal, and a job order will usually name an end date. Dairies, feedlots, poultry houses, greenhouses, mushroom farms and some nurseries run all year, so those are your best bet for steady work. Some people follow harvests from region to region and stay busy most of the year that way. It works, but you're living out of a bag and starting over with a new crew every few weeks. If you want year-round work, ask in the interview what happens to the crew after the last pick.

Your body takes the hit. Bending over low crops, reaching into trees, lifting full lugs and standing on concrete at a sorting line all add up by the end of a week. Heat is the other one, and a July afternoon in an open field is no joke. Rain can cancel a day with no pay if you're on piece rate. Plenty of people also find the repetition harder than the lifting. Doing the same cut on the same plant for hours wears some people down faster than any sore back.

Farms that use pesticides have to give workers pesticide safety training under the federal Worker Protection Standard before you work in treated areas. You'll learn to watch for posted warning signs and to stay out of a field until the restricted-entry interval ends. Expect a heat illness talk too: where the water and shade are, when to take a break and how to spot a crew member who's in trouble. Some states add their own heat and sanitation rules, so rules differ depending on where you work. Ask where the eyewash and first aid kit are on day one.

Not for general crew work. A few paths need one, though. Mixing or applying restricted-use pesticides takes a pesticide applicator certification, which your state department of agriculture handles, and requirements vary by state. Driving a crew bus or a large truck on public roads may need a commercial driver's license, and the rules for farm vehicles differ from state to state. Packing sheds usually certify you on the forklift themselves. Check with your state agency before you pay for any course.

The fastest step up is crew lead, and bilingual workers who keep a crew on pace tend to get tapped for it first. From there you can move to field supervisor or farm manager. If you like machines, irrigation tech and equipment operator are common next jobs, and getting the applicator certification can turn you into the farm's spray tech. In a packing house the path runs to line lead or quality control inspector. On a dairy, careful workers with a good eye for sick animals can grow into herd manager.