Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
What they do
Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
Expected pay range
Expected pay range
This represents the median earnings for this career in the selected county or state. In the range shown, 25% of workers earned less than the bottom salary and 25% earned more than the top salary. Data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
About farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse
Other titles
Farm Laborer, Farmer, Field Irrigation Worker, Gardener, Greenhouse Worker, Grower, Harvester, Nursery Worker, Orchard Worker, Picker
Tasks they perform
- Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
- Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.
- Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.
Skills they need
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Licenses and Certifications
How to decide which one is right? That depends on an individual’s career path, specialty, and resources.
PERISHABLE COMMODITIES HANDLER HMPC LICENSE
Texas Department of Agriculture~Licenses and Registrations
- License Type
- Stand-alone license
- Status
- Active
- Exam
- No exam required
- Education
- No educational requirements
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requirement to maintain license
- Criminal record
- Specific type of conviction prohibited
Certifications
Certifications may be available for this career and can help build knowledge and skills in specific job roles. Explore available certifications (external link opens new tab)
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Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Additional career information and resources
Learn more about farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse with these helpful sites.
- American Farm Bureau Federation (external link opens new tab)
- AmericanHort (external link opens new tab)
- Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (external link opens new tab)
- International Plant Propagators' Society (external link opens new tab)
- National Gardening Association (external link opens new tab)
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Agricultural workers (external link opens new tab)