Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 13-1021.00United States
Purchase farm products either for further processing or resale. Includes tree farm contractors, grain brokers and market operators, grain buyers, and tobacco buyers.
- Median annual earnings
- $76,563
- Projected change
- +9%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 514.87K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
76.8% of the workforce
Growing to 561.41K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What buyers and purchasing agents, farm products do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Purchase, for further processing or for resale, farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees.
- Negotiate contracts with farmers for the production or purchase of farm products.
- Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products.
- Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products.
- Maintain records of business transactions and product inventories, reporting data to companies or government agencies as necessary.
- Review orders to determine product types and quantities required to meet demand.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $47,111
- 25th percentile
- $59,500
- 50th percentile
- $76,563
- 75th percentile
- $100,470
- 90th percentile
- $132,336
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $76,563 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+9%faster than average
2025514,873 jobs
2035 projected561,410 jobs
46,537 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 76.8%
- Associate degree
- 8.3%
- High school diploma or less
- 7.6%
- Some college
- 7.3%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Purchasing Agents3,065 postings
- 02Buyers/Purchasing Agents223 postings
- 03Purchasing Buyers74 postings
- 04Buyers/Purchasing Specialists70 postings
- 05Lead Purchasing Agents38 postings
- 06Buyers/Purchasing Coordinators31 postings
- 07Estimators/Purchasing Agents25 postings
- 08Vehicle Purchasing Agents21 postings
- 09Purchasing/Supply Chain Managers20 postings
- 10Acquisition Agents13 postings
- 11Warehouse Managers/Purchasing Agents12 postings
- 12Procurement Agents10 postings
- 13Purchasing/Receiving Clerks10 postings
- 14Purchasing and Materials Managers9 postings
- 15Regional Purchasing Managers9 postings
- 16Corporate Purchasing Agents8 postings
- 17IT Purchasing Managers8 postings
- 18Purchasing Associates8 postings
- 19Purchasing and Facilities Managers7 postings
- 20Purchasing and Logistics Managers7 postings
Top employers
- 01Robert Half98 postings
- 02United States Department of Veterans Affairs61 postings
- 03Aston Carter37 postings
- 04D.R. Horton34 postings
- 05Marriott International24 postings
- 06Southland Industries22 postings
- 07Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania21 postings
- 08Cupertino Electric21 postings
- 09Lennar21 postings
- 10Arista Air Conditioning Corp.18 postings
- 11GPAC17 postings
- 12Mistral Architectural Metal Glass17 postings
- 13David Weekley Homes16 postings
- 14Health Advocates Network16 postings
- 15Brady Industries15 postings
- 16Express Employment Professionals15 postings
- 17Activ8 Recruitment & Solutions14 postings
- 18Artemide North America14 postings
- 19Commonwealth of Kentucky14 postings
- 20State of Florida14 postings
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