Agricultural Inspector
Love farms, animals, and produce but hate the long days and heavy lifting of farming? Why not become and inspector!
Inspect agricultural products, processing equipment, and facilities to ensure compliance with food safety regulations and quality standards.
Salary Range
$35,000 – $60,000
per year (10th–90th percentile)
Median Salary
$46,700
per year
Growth Outlook
2024–2034 projected
1. Work outdoors, 2. Work with your hands, 3. Work with people
Tasks & Responsibilities
- 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.
- Set standards for the production of meat or poultry products or for food ingredients, additives, or compounds used to prepare or package products.
- 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.
Tools of the Trade
Knowledge Areas
Customer and Personal Service
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. 63/100
Administration and Management
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. 59/100
Administrative
Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology. 58/100
Law and Government
Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process. 58/100
Mathematics
Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. 55/100
Public Safety and Security
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. 55/100
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. 54/100
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects. 49/100
Food Production
Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques. 48/100
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. 47/100
Work Profile
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