Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

What do farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse 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.

This describes a U.S. occupation, not a live vacancy. Individual employers may use different titles and requirements.

Job titles to recognize in your search

O*NET reports these titles for this occupation. Compare the responsibilities in each posting before treating titles as equivalent.

• Farm Laborer
• Farmer
• Field Irrigation Worker
• Gardener
• Greenhouse Worker
• Grower
• Harvester
• Nursery Worker

Core tasks to compare with a job posting

• 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.
• Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.
• Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.
• Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.
• Set up and operate irrigation equipment.
• Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.
• Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.
• Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.

Prepare an application for this occupation

1. Check the employer’s requirements, location, schedule and any licenses against your situation.
2. Choose two or three tasks above that match the posting and your actual experience.
3. Build a resume evidence worksheet using the skills and software relevant to that employer.
4. Practice explaining your contribution, decisions and results before an interview.

Explore related occupations

• Agricultural Equipment Operators
• Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
• Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
• Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
• Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
• Tree Trimmers and Pruners