U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

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).

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:Analyze problems to identify significant factors, gather pertinent data, and recognize solutions, plan and organize work.Communicate effectively orally and in writing.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).OREducation: Have successfully completed a 4-year course of study, from an accredited college or university, leading to a bachelor's degree.