Agricultural and Horticultural Mobile Plant Operator
What the work is
Operates agricultural and horticultural plant to clear and cultivate land, and sow, fertilise, spray and harvest crops.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Prepares and positions agricultural and horticultural plant for operation
- Operates tractor-drawn and self-propelled plant to plough land and sow, fertilise, cultivate and harvest crops, and avoids damaging crops
- Calibrates and monitors agricultural and horticultural plant performance, including adjusting speed, height and depth of implements, as well as distribution or collection rates as needed
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a broadacre cropping farm in harvest season, and a plantation forest nearby where logging crews work. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A long straight run across a golden paddock with the grain tank filling and the radio on
- Beating the storm by an hour and getting the last of the crop into the shed
- A forest coupe cleared so tidily that the planner stops to say so
Hard days
- Harvest nights when the dew comes down late and the work seems to go on forever
- A breakdown in the middle of the busiest week, a long way from the workshop
- Dust, heat, flies and long days alone in the cab
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 741131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.