agricultural equipment operator

n March, farm operations overlap between livestock care and equipment preparation, including inspection, repairs, welding, fabrication, and routine maintenance to ensure all machinery is ready for spring fieldwork. Spring planting typically begins in early April and continues through early June, during which employees operate tractors, planters, seed drills, spreaders, and irrigation systems while attaching and adjusting various implements such as plows, discs, and sprayers. Once crops are planted, spraying season begins, requiring ongoing monitoring of field conditions and applying fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide treatments throughout the summer and into the fall to manage weeds, insects, fungus, and plant disease. Harvest generally begins in August and continues through December based on weather and crop readiness, involving the operation of combines, grain carts, trucks, augers, and other harvest-support equipment. During weather delays, workers shift to maintenance tasks such as servicing machinery, repairing fences and buildings, replacing worn parts, completing welding or fabrication tasks, and performing general farmyard upkeep. By January, frozen ground halts field and structural work until temperatures allow spring field preparation to resume. Livestock operations follow a seasonal cycle beginning in March with calving, where workers perform calving checks, assist with difficult births, tag newborn calves, apply health treatments, ensure feeding and warming for weak calves, and monitor cow and calf condition. Once calving concludes, cow–calf pairs are placed in a rotational grazing system from May through September, requiring workers to move fencing approximately every three days to maintain fresh forage access. Beginning in July, bulls are introduced to assigned cow groups for breeding management. In October, all cattle are returned to centralized handling facilities for sorting, weaning, vaccination, pregnancy checks, weight evaluation, and identification procedures, after which they are moved to fall pasture until weather requires transition to the feedlot for winter feeding. From December through March, cattle remain in the feedlot and minimal livestock handling is required. Throughout the season, job duties include feeding livestock, transporting feed using trucks or tractors, monitoring water systems, mixing feed additives or medications, examining animals for illness or injury, and administering treatments or vaccines or coordinating veterinary services. Workers may herd livestock to pastures, scales, handling facilities, trucks, or enclosures using trucks, ATVs, or horseback. Additional responsibilities include branding, tagging, marking, trimming, castrating, or otherwise handling livestock as required, bathing or spraying animals with insecticides or disinfectants, and maintaining accurate livestock and crop production records. Mechanical and operational tasks include identifying and diagnosing equipment failures, disassembling damaged machinery, welding or fabricating replacement components, using hand tools and machine tools such as grinders, drill presses, and lathes, and reinstalling or replacing mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, or structural systems. Workers also maintain irrigation and plumbing systems, perform lubrication and testing after repairs, adjust mechanical settings, and transport tools, supplies, or machinery between work areas. All duties vary by season, weather, livestock needs, and operational requirements. The employer, at its sole discretion, may grant pay increases based on factors such as performance, longevity, and/or experience. Employer may also, at its sole discretion, offer performance-based incentive bonuses that are not guaranteed and are determined by the employer.