O*NET-SOC 45-2091.00 / model V11 rated-task engine

Will AI replace
Agricultural Equipment Operators?

Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.

Estimated AI task exposure

Low exposure

V11 weights occupation tasks using O*NET Importance, Relevance and Frequency ratings instead of treating every task equally.

17 tasks have usable Task Rating records; weighted-task coverage is 100%.

Digital/info work

19/100

Physical moat

83/100

Human moat

16/100

Rating coverage

100%

17 task statements / 17 rated

Highest-weighted occupation tasks

Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.

Importance 79/100Relevance 99/100Frequency 66/100Weight 0.83

Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.

Importance 73/100Relevance 100/100Frequency 58/100Weight 0.80

Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.

Importance 82/100Relevance 86/100Frequency 66/100Weight 0.80

Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.

Importance 83/100Relevance 96/100Frequency 43/100Weight 0.78

Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.

Importance 86/100Relevance 83/100Frequency 53/100Weight 0.76

Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.

Importance 76/100Relevance 87/100Frequency 61/100Weight 0.76

Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.

Importance 88/100Relevance 73/100Frequency 50/100Weight 0.73

Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.

Importance 83/100Relevance 73/100Frequency 48/100Weight 0.70

Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.

Importance 79/100Relevance 65/100Frequency 52/100Weight 0.67

Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.

Importance 76/100Relevance 59/100Frequency 57/100Weight 0.65

Task weighting

Each rated task receives a composite weight: 38% relevance, 37% importance and 25% frequency. Core tasks receive a small additional multiplier. Low-precision rows flagged by O*NET for suppression are excluded.

Occupation scoring

When rating coverage is strong, rated tasks contribute 60% of the digital, physical and human task signals and Work Activities contribute 40%. Lower-coverage occupations automatically rely more on Work Activities.

U.S. labor market

BLS Wage & Employment Outlook

Median annual wage

$41,730

BLS OEWS May 2025

National employment

28,500

BLS OEWS May 2025

Projected growth

+8.6%

BLS Employment Projections 2025–2035

Average annual openings

10

BLS Employment Projections 2025–2035

BLS labor-market figures are separate from the site's AI-exposure model. Missing values mean a compatible detailed BLS occupation estimate was not published or could not be mapped.

Career pivot radar

Safer Career Alternatives

These options are selected from the same 923-occupation model. They favor a similar task/work profile with meaningfully lower estimated AI exposure. They are suggestions for exploration, not guarantees of job fit.

SAFER ALTERNATIVE