Description
Operate farm tractors to support field preparation, planting, cultivation, harvest, hauling, and manure handling. Attach and power implements via PTO and hydraulics, follow GPS or field plans, and perform routine maintenance, inspections, and safety checks.
- • Inspect tractors daily; check fluids, tires, lights, and safety devices.
- • Service and perform minor repairs on tractors and implements; report major malfunctions.
- • Operate tractors for tillage, planting, cultivating, mowing, and harvest support.
- • Mix seed, fertilizer, or chemical solutions and load planters or sprayers.
- • Tow and position irrigation reels, pipes, or pumps; maintain access roads and ditches.
- • Haul crops, supplies, and workers using tractors with wagons or trailers; may drive farm trucks.
- • Load and unload seed, fertilizer, bales, or crops with tractor loaders, forks, augers, or conveyors.
- • Monitor tractor and implement sounds, gauges, and performance to detect issues.
- • Attach and detach implements using three-point hitch, drawbar, PTO, and hydraulics.
- • Set and adjust engine speed, PTO, hydraulic flow, and implement depth or rate.
- • Apply seed, fertilizer, and chemicals with tractor-mounted or towed equipment, following labels and PPE requirements.
- • Operate grain carts and position wagons under augers; control product flow and discard contaminated product.
- • Coordinate with field crews during planting, harvest, and loading operations.
- • Align tractor speed and spacing for transplanters; maintain straight, even rows.
- • Weigh or record loads, acreage, application rates, and other field data.
- • Clean tractors and implements; refuel and lubricate equipment after use.
- • Follow field maps, GPS or auto-steer guidance, and farm safety procedures.
- • Operate tractors with planters, cultivators, mowers, loaders, sprayers, and other implements.
- • Attach and detach implements such as plows, discs, seed drills, sprayers, and harvest aids using bolts, pins, and hand tools.
- • Set and adjust tractor, implement, GPS/auto-steer, PTO, hydraulic, and rate controls.
- • Prepare fields by tilling, disking, bed shaping, and rolling to specified depths and widths.
- • Plant and cultivate crops, monitoring equipment performance and row alignment from the cab.
- • Operate towed and mounted sprayers, spreaders, and seeders to apply seed, fertilizer, and crop-protection products per instructions.
- • Haul crops, supplies, and equipment with tractors, wagons, and trailers; spot and unload safely.
- • Load hoppers, planters, and augers with seed or grain using loaders, conveyors, or shovels.
- • Move and stack hay or straw using bale wagons, spears, or loaders; operate baler as assigned.
- • Assist with irrigation by moving pipe or hose reels, towing equipment, and maintaining pumps and lines.
- • Remove and spread manure or waste using tractor loaders or manure spreaders.
- • Monitor engine, transmission, PTO, and hydraulic systems to detect malfunctions.
- • Perform routine service and minor repairs on tractors and implements; refuel, grease, and check fluids; report major issues.
- • Maintain field and equipment records, including acres worked, rates, loads, fuel use, and maintenance performed.
- • Follow safety procedures for road travel, PTO and hydraulic lockout, chemical handling, and PPE use.
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
