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Career Details

45-1011.00 - First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers


Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of agricultural, forestry, aquacultural, and related workers.


Key Facts
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Bright Outlook
Career Details
Green Job
Career Details
Current Employment
47,100
Estimate
Forecasted Employment
43,300
Estimate
Change in Employment
-3,900
Estimate
Change in Employment %
-8.2%
Estimate
Tasks
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Tasks
The tasks listed below can be performed to prepare you for a career in this field.
Core
  • Assign tasks such as feeding and treatment of animals, and cleaning and maintenance of animal quarters.
  • Record the numbers and types of fish or shellfish reared, harvested, released, sold, and shipped.
  • Monitor workers to ensure that safety regulations are followed, warning or disciplining those who violate safety regulations.
  • Observe animals for signs of illness, injury, or unusual behavior, notifying veterinarians or managers as warranted.
  • Observe fish and beds or ponds to detect diseases, monitor fish growth, determine quality of fish, or determine completeness of harvesting.
  • Train workers in tree felling or bucking, operation of tractors or loading machines, yarding or loading techniques, or safety regulations.
  • Treat animal illnesses or injuries, following experience or instructions of veterinarians.
  • Train workers in spawning, rearing, cultivating, and harvesting methods, and in the use of equipment.
  • Train workers in techniques such as planting, harvesting, weeding, or insect identification and in the use of safety measures.
  • Confer with managers to evaluate weather or soil conditions, to develop plans or procedures, or to discuss issues such as changes in fertilizers, herbicides, or cultivating techniques.
  • Communicate with forestry personnel regarding forest harvesting or forest management plans, procedures, or schedules.
  • Inspect crops, fields, or plant stock to determine conditions and need for cultivating, spraying, weeding, or harvesting.
  • Coordinate dismantling, moving, and setting up equipment at new work sites.
  • Coordinate the selection and movement of logs from storage areas, according to transportation schedules or production requirements.
  • Schedule work crews, equipment, or transportation for several different work locations.
  • Drive or operate farm machinery, such as trucks, tractors, or self-propelled harvesters, to transport workers or supplies or to cultivate or harvest fields.
  • Perform both supervisory and management functions, such as accounting, marketing, and personnel work.
  • Transport or arrange for transport of animals, equipment, food, animal feed, and other supplies to and from work sites.
  • Inspect buildings, fences, fields or ranges, supplies, and equipment to determine work to be performed.
  • Read inventory records, customer orders, or shipping schedules to determine required activities.
  • Inspect facilities to determine maintenance needs.
  • Confer with managers to determine production requirements, conditions of equipment and supplies, and work schedules.
  • Prepare and maintain time or payroll reports, as well as details of personnel actions, such as performance evaluations, hires, promotions, or disciplinary actions.
  • Requisition or purchase supplies, such as insecticides, machine parts or lubricants, or tools.
  • Monitor or oversee construction projects, such as horticultural buildings or irrigation systems.
  • Issue equipment, such as farm implements, machinery, ladders, or containers to workers, and collect equipment when work is complete.
  • Calculate or monitor budgets for maintenance or development of collections, grounds, or infrastructure.
Generic
  • Direct or assist with the adjustment or repair of equipment or machinery.
  • Monitor operations to identify and solve problems, improve work methods, and ensure compliance with safety, company, and government regulations.
  • Plan work schedules according to personnel and equipment availability.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Knowledge
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Knowledge

The items listed below are organized into sections that contain knowledge useful for pursuing a career in this field. Each section also contains a "Percentage of Importance" statistic that shows how relevant an item is to the occupation.
 Administration and Management
  • 75%
    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
 Production and Processing
  • 69%
    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
 Mechanical
  • 65%
    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
 Education and Training
  • 64%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
 English Language
  • 64%
    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
 Customer and Personal Service
  • 63%
    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
 Biology
  • 62%
    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
 Public Safety and Security
  • 60%
    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
 Personnel and Human Resources
  • 59%
    Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
 Transportation
  • 58%
    Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
 Mathematics
  • 58%
    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
 Clerical
  • 57%
    Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
 Food Production
  • 54%
    Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
 Computers and Electronics
  • 53%
    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
 Chemistry
  • 52%
    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
 Economics and Accounting
  • 51%
    Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
 Psychology
  • 51%
    Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
 Engineering and Technology
  • 50%
    Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
 Building and Construction
  • 50%
    Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Tools
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Tools
The tools listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Saddlery
  • Horse saddles
 Harness goods
  • Horse bridles
 Agricultural machinery for soil preparation
  • Plows
  • Rototillers
  • Soil tillers
  • Field watering systems
 Agricultural machinery for harvesting
  • Hay rakes
  • Round balers
  • Square balers
  • Crop harvesters
  • Forage harvesters
 Dispersing and spraying appliances for agriculture
  • Chemical injection systems
  • Weed sprayers
  • Drop spreaders
  • Manure spreaders
  • Fog systems
  • Fumigators
 Poultry and livestock equipment
  • Milk separators
  • Milking equipment
  • Debeakers
  • Dehorners
  • Feed wagons
  • Tail dockers
  • Poultry incubators
  • Automated feed batch mixers
  • Ear tagging equipment
  • Egg candlers
  • Egg grading machines
  • Egg washing machines
  • Automatic watering devices
  • Clipping equipment
  • Shearing equipment
 Forestry machinery and equipment
  • Chain flail delimbers
  • Debarking tools
  • Delimbing gates
  • Feller bunchers
  • Grapple processors
  • Grapple yarders
  • Pullthrough delimbers
  • Sawbucks
  • Stroke delimbers
  • Pruning shears
  • Tree pruning equipment
  • Log skidders
 Greenhouse equipment
  • Greenhouse climate control systems
 Commercial fishing equipment
  • Fish capture nets
  • Fyke nets
  • Gill nets
  • Hoop nets
 Aquaculture equipment
  • Hatching trays
  • Automatic fish feeders
  • Filtering equipment
  • Fish gates
  • Fish holding tanks
  • Fish screens
  • Fish seines
  • Fish tagging equipment
  • Fish traps
  • Video scanning fish counters
 Earth moving machinery
  • Front end loaders
  • Backhoes
  • Tracked bulldozers
  • Tracked excavators
  • Knuckleboom loaders
 Heavy equipment components
  • Timber tongs
  • Snowplows
 Industrial trucks
  • Logging arches
 Lifting equipment and accessories
  • Hoisting racks
  • Forklifts
  • Cable winches
  • Mobile logging cranes
 Industrial freezers
  • Blast chillers
 Passenger motor vehicles
  • Light pickup trucks
 Specialized and recreational vehicles
  • Logging tractors
  • Multipurpose tractors
  • Four wheel drive 4WD vehicles
 Recreational watercraft
  • Small power boats
  • Rowboats
 Product and material trailers
  • Mud sleds
  • Animal trailers
 Power generators
  • Gas-powered generators
 Forming tools
  • Claw hammers
 Wrenches and drivers
  • Phillips head screwdrivers
  • Straight screwdrivers
  • Socket wrench sets
  • Adjustable hand wrenches
 Agriculture, forestry and garden handtools
  • Digging spades
  • Spades
  • Rakes
  • Long handle shovels
  • Shovels
  • Axes
  • Hoes
  • Pitchforks
  • Post hole diggers
  • Flail mowers
  • Riding mowers
 Holding and clamping tools
  • Adjustable widemouth pliers
 Power tools
  • Cordless drills
  • Power drills
  • Chain saws
  • Power saws
 Dispensing tools
  • Handheld spray guns
 Pumps
  • Aeration pumps
  • Water pumps
  • Water transfer systems
 Compressors
  • Air compressors
 Sampling equipment
  • Total dissolved solids TDS meters
 Weight measuring instruments
  • Electronic animal scales
  • Fish weighing scales
 Electrochemical measuring instruments and accessories
  • pH indicators
  • Dissolved oxygen indicators
 Test Tubes
  • Laboratory test tubes
 Veterinary equipment
  • Animal injection syringes
  • Animal vaccination syringes
  • Artificial insemination syringes
  • Balling guns
  • Suction syringes
  • Veterinary intravenous IV sets
  • Castration equipment
  • Hoof trimmers
  • Nail trimmers
 Syringes and accessories
  • Blood drawing syringes
 Computers
  • Desktop computers
  • Personal computers
 Computer data input devices
  • Portable data collectors
 Cameras
  • Video camera systems
 Respiratory protection
  • Dust and particulate respirators
 Water treatment and supply equipment
  • Ozone water purification systems
  • Turbidimeters
  • Ultraviolet water purification systems
 Brooms and mops and brushes and accessories
  • Tank cleaning brushes
  • Cleaning mops
 Scuba and snorkeling gear
  • Scuba diving equipment
 Audio and visual equipment
  • Geodetic ground global positioning system GPS receivers
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Technology
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Technology
The technologies listed below include machines, equipment, tools, and software that is useful for individuals who are interested in this career.
 Business function specific software
  • ConfluenceHOT
  • Landmark Sales LOG-istics
  • TradeTec Computer Systems TallyWorks Logs
  • Valley Agricultural Software Feed Watch
  • Microsoft OfficeHOT
 Finance accounting and enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • BCS Woodlands Software The Logger Tracker
  • Sage 50 Accounting
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP softwareHOT
  • Midwest MicroSystems Cow SenseHOT
  • Payroll software
 Content authoring and editing software
  • Microsoft WordHOT
  • Word processing software
  • Microsoft PowerPointHOT
  • Employee scheduling software
  • Work scheduling software
  • Microsoft ExcelHOT
  • Spreadsheet software
 Data management and query software
  • Cattlesoft CattleMax
  • Data entry softwareHOT
  • Database software
  • Lion Edge Technologies Ranch Manager
  • Valley Agricultural Software DairyCOMP 305
 Information exchange software
  • Microsoft OutlookHOT
  • Mapping software
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Certifications
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Certifications
The certifications listed below are useful to pursue if you are interested in a career in this field.
 Core
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Licensing
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Licensing
The licensing information below is organized into sections and is useful for pursuing if you are interested in a career in this field.
No specific licensing information is listed for this occupation in the area you have selected.
All data sourced from US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration O*Net Database.
Related Programs
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Programs related to this career, offered by participating institution(s), are listed below.

Clicking on the Degree programs in the list below will take you away from the Careers page.
INSTITUTION
PROGRAMS
Germanna Community College
J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Paul D. Camp Community College
Southside Virginia Community College
Tidewater Community College
Virginia Highlands Community College
Virginia Western Community College
Jobs
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Jobs related to this career may be found on Indeed.com or on the Google Job Search page.