Community Sentiment
Do you agree?
Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Agricultural Equipment Operators?
Task-level automation exposure for Agricultural Equipment Operators: 17 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
14%
weighted task index
17 of 17 tasks scored
Median Salary
$41,730 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Medium
28,500 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+8.6%
employment change
10,100 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 40 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$32,060 – $58,770
Highest medians
Montana $58,770
Louisiana $58,520
New York $50,020
Delaware $49,910
Massachusetts $49,150
Lowest medians
Arkansas $32,060
Alabama $33,910
Texas $34,260
South Carolina $34,490
Oklahoma $34,900
State figures come from the 45-2091 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 14%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 84%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 5%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 5%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 2/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
17 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 0%
0 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 5%
1 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 95%
16 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Emerging & rewritten tasks
Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.
- New 05/2025 · AI/SME
Operate drones to monitor crop health, growth and pest infestations, and apply targeted treatments.
Constituent Tasks
#13369 · Core · 3% automatable
Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
physical manipulation — Manual loading of agricultural products
Load agricultural or forestry products for shipment.
#13358 · Core · 12% automatable
Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
physical manipulation — Physical preparation of materials for organisms
Prepare materials or solutions for animal or plant use.
#13363 · Core · 10% automatable
Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
physical manipulation — Applying chemicals to plants is field manual work
Apply chemical solutions to plants to protect against disease or insects or to enhance growth.
#13356 · Core · 22% automatable
Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
visual inspection — Condition assessment needs physical presence
Inspect equipment or facilities to determine condition or maintenance needs.
#13360 · Core · 8% automatable
Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
situated mobility — Farming equipment operation in unstructured fields
Operate farming equipment.
#13359 · Core · 13% automatable
Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
physical manipulation — Hands-on repair of field equipment in unstructured settings
Operate farming equipment. Maintain forestry, hunting, or agricultural equipment.
#13355 · Core · 30% automatable
Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
interpersonal — Live managerial conferral; AI can draft but not decide
Maintain forestry, hunting, or agricultural equipment. Confer with managers to make operational decisions.
#13364 · Core · 5% automatable
Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
physical manipulation — Hands-on accessory attachment
Attach equipment extensions or accessories.
#13362 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
physical manipulation — Hands-on loading of processing equipment
Load materials into equipment for processing.
#13361 · Supplemental · 27% automatable
Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
interpersonal — Directing field employees is on-site human supervision
Direct activities of agricultural, forestry, or fishery employees.
#13365 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops.
situated mobility — Farming equipment operation in unstructured fields
Operate farming equipment.
#13368 · Supplemental · 47% automatable
Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information.
data analysis — Record inventory data; field collection is human
Measure physical characteristics of forestry or agricultural products. Record agricultural or forestry inventory data.
#13367 · Supplemental · 6% automatable
Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals.
situated mobility — Farming equipment operation in unstructured fields
Plant crops, trees, or other plants. Operate farming equipment.
#13366 · Supplemental · 8% automatable
Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers.
situated mobility — Farming equipment operation in unstructured fields
Operate farming equipment.
#13370 · Supplemental · 18% automatable
Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products.
physical manipulation — Physical control of conveyors and material movers
Operate conveyors or other industrial material moving equipment.
#13371 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on accessory attachment
Attach equipment extensions or accessories.
#13357 · Supplemental · 17% automatable
Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps.
physical manipulation — Hands-on repair of field equipment in unstructured settings
Operate irrigation systems. Maintain forestry, hunting, or agricultural equipment.
Embed this calculator on your site ↓
Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.
<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="agricultural-equipment-operators"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script> Method
How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
See the full method →Related Article
Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market
Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.
Read Article ->