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.
$77,710 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
of the working time. Estimate.
- 57%
- 40%
- 3%
Anthropic's data does not cover this job.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h 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, 35%. Today's estimate: 43%.
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.
The tasks
Sorted by . 9 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negotiate contracts with farmers for the production or purchase of farm products.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 33% | 3.3 h50 min to 2.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Purchase, for further processing or for resale, farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 23% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Maintain records of business transactions and product inventories, reporting data to companies or government agencies as necessary.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 17% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 77%Half by now | |
| Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | 51%Half by now | |
| Coordinate or direct activities of workers engaged in cutting, transporting, storing, or milling products and maintaining records.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Review orders to determine product types and quantities required to meet demand.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Estimate land production possibilities, surveying property and studying factors such as crop rotation history, soil fertility, or irrigation facilities.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Examine or test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade, or locate any evidence of disease or insect damage.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 1% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 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.
- Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products39% now, 65% by 2028
- Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products33% now, 86% by 2028
- Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers12% now, 45% by 2028
- Purchasing Managers17% now, 76% by 2028
- Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products44% now, 52% by 2028
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents59% now, 87% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.