Business and Financial Operations · Holland code ECR

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.

Also called: Buyer, Grain Buyer, Grain Merchandiser, Purchasing Agent, Cattle Buyer, Grain Market Advisor, Grain Marketing Advisor, Grain Origination Specialist.

O*NET 13-1021.00

At a glance

Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products.
Coordinate or direct activities of workers engaged in cutting, transporting, storing, or milling products and maintaining records.
Examine or test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade, or locate any evidence of disease or insect damage.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Speaking3.8 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.5 / 5
Writing3.3 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
Food Production4.1 / 5
Sales and Marketing4.0 / 5
Economics and Accounting3.8 / 5
Transportation3.8 / 5
English Language3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic59
Investigative14
Artistic1
Social12
Enterprising65
Conventional63

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

purchasing manager · DE Einkaufsleiter/Einkaufsleiterin · FR responsable des achats
purchaser · DE Einkäufer/Einkäuferin · FR acheteur/acheteuse
green coffee buyer · DE Rohkaffeeeinkäufer/Rohkaffeeeinkäuferin · FR acheteur de café vert/acheteuse de café vert
timber trader · DE Holzhändler/Holzhändlerin · FR négociant en bois/négociante en bois

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Purchasing managers and directors (1134)61,700 employed
Directors in logistics, warehousing and transport (1140)30,300 employed
Managers in logistics (1243)34,900 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.77. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-1021).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test