Agricultural Commodity Graders analyze and certify the quality and/or condition of agricultural products against official standards and related regulations. Grading and inspections are different for every agricultural commodity because of the many differences in products, production and processing methods, and marketing practices done to support each commodity.
These duties may include:
- Examining and evaluating agricultural products to determine their official U.S. grade and/or their acceptability in terms of quality or condition in accordance with official standards and related regulations.
- Establishing and certifying the quality and/or condition of a product within the marketing channels.
- Serving as the designated contact with plant management to coordinate the grading/inspection activities.
This Position is Represented in the Following AMS Programs
Work Environment
Agricultural Commodity Graders work in a variety of settings and working conditions depending on the product they are grading. For example, our Graders may work in a farm field where a product is being grown, within processing plants where the product is being prepared for consumers, or by a railroad line or port where products are being transferred. This may involve frequent travel, unpleasant weather, or other working conditions, and other potential hazards. Often Graders must have the physical ability to reach and obtain samples of products from hard-to-reach places such as tractor trailers, ship holds, railroad cars, stacked crates or boxes, or moving conveyors.
Agricultural Commodity Graders work under the pressure of providing the right grading and inspection results set by the processing or marketing requirements for a commodity. In some cases, grading judgments must be made in rapid succession and almost instantaneously (e.g., grading beef carcasses on a high-speed line). In other cases, many grading determinations must be performed rapidly to meet market requirements (e.g., grading hundreds of cotton samples daily).
Minimum Applicant Requirements
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For GS-05 Level |
For GS-07 Level and Above |
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Applicants must have either: Experience: Three years of general, progressively responsible experience, one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level that demonstrates the ability to:
Experience may have been gained in quality assurance (machinist, on-line production work), as a commodity buyer, receiving clerk, farm experience (in a managerial, decision- making capacity), clerical (office manager, administrative assistant with decision-making responsibility), or food processing laboratory food work (managerial, technical). Experience must provide evidence of the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position and show decision making responsibilities. General clerical experience (typing, filing, routine processing, or other non-specialized repetitive tasks) is not creditable. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). OR Education: Have successfully completed a 4-year course of study, from an accredited college or university, leading to a bachelor's degree. |
Applicants must have either: Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level that demonstrates the ability to:
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). OR Education: Have one full year of graduate level education in Agriculture, Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Business, Economics or a related field. OR Superior Academic Achievement: Completed the requirements for a 4-year course of study from an accredited institution AND must meet certain GPA requirements as listed in the job advertisement. OR Combination of Education & Experience at the GS-5/7 Grade Level: A combination of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. |
Common Career Paths
