Agricultural Inspectors

What the job really is

Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.

At a glance

• Sector: Farming, Fishing & Forestry
• O*NET-SOC code: 45-2011
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat.
• Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
• Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
• Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates.
• Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants.
• Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised.
• Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
• Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees.
• Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
• Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals.
• Monitor the grading performed by company employees to verify conformance to standards.
• Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Agricultural dividers, Bacon bomb samplers, Barley pearlers, Beam scales, Bean sack triers, Block weights

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Construction and Building Inspectors
• Food Science Technicians
• First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers
• Aviation Inspectors
• Agricultural Technicians
• Occupational Health and Safety Technicians
• Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
• Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Agricultural Inspectors — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.