Business and Financial Operations

Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products

Purchase farm products either for further processing or resale. Includes tree farm contractors, grain brokers and market operators, grain buyers, and tobacco buyers. May negotiate contracts.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Buyers and Purchasing Agents

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$77,710USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$37.36USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$48,380$23.26
25th$60,800$29.23
50th · Median$77,710$37.36
75th$100,820$48.47
90th$128,870$61.96

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

BuyerBuying AgentCattle BrokerCattle BuyerChicken BuyerClean Rice BrokerCotton BuyerCotton Purchasing AgentCow BuyerEgg BuyerFarm BuyerFarm Product Purchaser
Expand more title examples (31)
Farm Products Purchasing AgentFruit BuyerFur BuyerGrain BrokerGrain BuyerGrain Market AdvisorGrain Marketing AdvisorGrain MerchandiserGrain Origination SpecialistGrain Purchasing AgentHide BuyerHog BuyerHorse BuyerLivestock BrokerLivestock BuyerLivestock Commission AgentLivestock DealerLivestock Purchasing AgentLivestock SpeculatorLivestock, Grain, Cotton and Other Farm Products Purchasing AgentProduce BrokerProduce BuyerProduce ShipperPurchasing AgentPurchasing BuyerPurchasing SpecialistSeed BuyerStock BuyerTobacco BuyerWheat BuyerWool Buyer

Typical tasks

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products.
  • Coordinate or direct activities of workers engaged in cutting, transporting, storing, or milling products and maintaining records.
Expand more tasks (3)
  • Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products.
  • Examine or test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade, or locate any evidence of disease or insect damage.
  • Estimate land production possibilities, surveying property and studying factors such as crop rotation history, soil fertility, or irrigation facilities.

Skills used in this work

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.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
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.
Expand more skills (29)
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
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.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
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United States wage reference

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Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.