Agricultural Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 6% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 9% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 91% of the time, stays with people.
Work with agricultural scientists in plant, fiber, and animal research, or assist with animal breeding and nutrition. Set up or maintain laboratory equipment and collect samples from crops or animals. Prepare specimens or record data to assist scientists in biology or related life science experiments. Conduct tests and experiments to improve yield and quality of crops or to increase the resistance of plants and animals to disease or insects.
15,130 people do this job in the US. $49,630 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on3 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet1 h
- Stays with people36 h
Agricultural Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 3 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 1 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 36 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Prepare data summaries, reports, or analyses that include results, charts, or graphs to document research findings and results (under an hour); Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care (under an hour); Devise cultural methods or environmental controls for plants for which guidelines are sketchy or nonexistent (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 9%
- 0%
- 91%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 3%. Today's estimate: 6%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 348th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 26 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.027% to 0.039% (released February and March 2025); 0.071% to 0.14% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.011% to 0.011% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.027% | 394 of 708 | 4 of 26 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.039% | 308 of 703 | 3 of 26 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.071% | 189 of 655 | 3 of 26 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.047% | 246 of 672 | 4 of 26 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.14% | 128 of 677 | 2 of 26 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 335 of 434 | 1 of 26 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.011% | 348 of 447 | 1 of 26 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 77% of this job's working time as physical work. For 65% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 40% in a purpose-built cell, 17% in a structured facility, 8% in any setting. 0.97 of 3, the 130th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 23%
- No robot shown 12%
- In a purpose-built cell 40%
- In a structured facility 17%
- In any setting 8%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 26 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks.Done several times a day by most who do it. Robots: in any setting, John Deere Autonomy Precision Upgrade / autonomous 9RX tractor (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 33% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform crop production duties, such as tilling, hoeing, pruning, weeding, or harvesting crops.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Autonomous 9RX / 8R tractor with second-generation autonomy kit (John Deere) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, John Deere Autonomy Precision Upgrade (second-generation perception system, 8R/8RX/9R/9RX tractors) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Conduct studies of nitrogen or alternative fertilizer application methods, quantities, or timing to ensure satisfaction of crop needs and minimization of leaching, runoff, or denitrification.Done more than weekly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Rogo SmartCore autonomous soil sampler (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Devise cultural methods or environmental controls for plants for which guidelines are sketchy or nonexistent.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | 28%Half by Apr 2027 | |
| Perform tests on seeds to evaluate seed viability.Done yearly or less by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, LemnaTec Germination Scanalyzer / SeedAIxpert HT (installed at IRRI, Los Baños) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Prepare data summaries, reports, or analyses that include results, charts, or graphs to document research findings and results.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 3.3 h1.7 h to 1 work day | 99%Half by now | |
| Supervise or train agricultural technicians or farm laborers.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 2% | 1.7 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Supervise pest or weed control operations, including locating and identifying pests or weeds, selecting chemicals and application methods, or scheduling application.Done more than monthly by most who do it.Robots: in a structured facility, Solix Ag Robotics (Solix Scouting / Solix Sprayer) (Solinftec) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Assess comparative soil erosion from various planting or tillage systems, such as conservation tillage with mulch or ridge till systems, no-till systems, or conventional tillage systems with or without moldboard plows.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, DJI Matrice 300 / Zenmuse L1 UAS with K-means and PCA-Otsu crop residue cover estimation (Purdue University) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 1.7 work days5 h to 3.1 work days | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Agricultural Engineers7% now, 35% by 2028
- Biological Technicians35% now, 37% by 2028
- Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers36% now, 45% by 2028
- Precision Agriculture Technicians66% now, 74% by 2028
- Food Science Technicians25% now, 25% by 2028
- Food Scientists and Technologists17% now, 79% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools3,730 people
- Scientific Research and Development Services2,260 people
- Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4241, 4247, and 4249 only)2,150 people
- Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services1,410 people
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services810 people
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Agricultural Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 6% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 9% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (9% to 10% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Agricultural Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Prepare data summaries, reports, or analyses that include results, charts, or graphs to document research findings and results (99% of the task's time now); Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care (100% of the task's time now); and Devise cultural methods or environmental controls for plants for which guidelines are sketchy or nonexistent (28% of the task's time now, 99% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Agricultural Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks; Perform crop production duties, such as tilling, hoeing, pruning, weeding, or harvesting crops; and Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness. Together such tasks are about 91% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Agricultural Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.011% went to this job's tasks, the 348th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 26 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 1%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Agricultural Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 77% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 65% of the working time, 8% in any setting. Its index is 0.97 of 3. One example: John Deere Autonomy Precision Upgrade / autonomous 9RX tractor for "operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 26 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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