Description
Supervise and coordinate crop harvest operations, directing crews and equipment to meet yield, quality, schedule, and safety goals from field readiness through delivery to packing or storage.
- • Assign daily harvest tasks and crew positions based on field priorities and maturity.
- • Inspect fields and crops to confirm ripeness, quality, and readiness for harvest.
- • Plan harvest schedules aligned with weather, labor, and equipment availability.
- • Schedule crews, machinery, and transportation across multiple fields or blocks.
- • Monitor crews to ensure compliance with safety and food-safety regulations; coach or discipline as needed.
- • Train workers in harvest techniques, crop handling, ladder use, and safe equipment operation.
- • Issue and track harvest tools, bins, containers, PPE, and ladders.
- • Coordinate setup, movement, and teardown of harvest equipment at new sites.
- • Direct or assist with the adjustment, calibration, and minor repair of harvest machinery.
- • Operate farm vehicles or equipment as needed to support harvest or move crews and supplies.
- • Coordinate product flow from field to trucks, packinghouse, or storage to prevent bottlenecks.
- • Read orders, pack plans, or shipping schedules to set harvest volumes and priorities.
- • Confer with managers on production targets, quality standards, and resource needs.
- • Monitor harvest progress, yields, and defects; adjust methods or crew size to meet goals.
- • Record quantities harvested by field, lot, crew, and grade; maintain traceability records.
- • Inspect field sanitation, equipment condition, and worker facilities; arrange maintenance.
- • Requisition or purchase harvest supplies such as bins, pallets, liners, tools, fuel, and lubricants.
- • Prepare and maintain time sheets, payroll data, headcounts, and performance notes.
- • Arrange transportation for crews, equipment, and harvested product.
- • Implement and verify compliance with food safety, GAP, and company policies.
- • Identify and resolve operational issues such as equipment downtime, labor gaps, or quality problems.
- • Communicate daily plans, safety briefings, and quality expectations to crews.
- • Monitor and document pesticide preharvest intervals and field-entry restrictions.
- • Track costs and help manage harvest budgets for labor, equipment, and supplies.
- • Coordinate with agronomy teams on maturity, residue management, and post-harvest field needs.
- • Inspect storage or staging areas to ensure proper temperature, cleanliness, and product protection.
- • Maintain inventory of containers, packaging, and consumables used in harvest.
- • Support incident reporting and root-cause analysis for injuries, food-safety, or quality issues.
- • Ensure proper grading, sorting, and handling to minimize damage and shrink.
- • Develop and update standard operating procedures for harvest tasks and equipment use.
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Agriculture
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Source
Tasks & skills:
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
