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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Agricultural Inspectors?
Task-level automation exposure for Agricultural Inspectors: 22 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
38%
weighted task index
22 of 22 tasks scored
Median Salary
$49,940 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
14,410 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+2.3%
employment change
2,500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 43 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$36,670 – $77,150
Highest medians
Minnesota $77,150
New York $73,920
Ohio $69,280
Michigan $65,730
Vermont $63,630
Lowest medians
Wyoming $36,670
Nevada $39,270
Alabama $39,300
Mississippi $39,960
Georgia $41,460
State figures come from the 45-2011 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 38%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 20%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 30%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 10%
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 17/100
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
22 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) 5%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 66%
14 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 29%
7 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 →Constituent Tasks
#14846 · Core · 40% automatable
Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14850 · Core · 55% automatable
Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
decision support — General guidance good; site-specific judgment needs human
Advise others on farming or forestry operations, regulations, or equipment.
#14852 · Core · 40% automatable
Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14848 · Core · 40% automatable
Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14851 · Core · 68% automatable
Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken.
data analysis — Maintain operational records in structured systems
Maintain operational records. Advise others on farming or forestry operations, regulations, or equipment.
#14849 · Core · 42% automatable
Collect samples from animals, plants, or products and route them to laboratories for microbiological assessment, ingredient verification, or other testing.
text generation — Sending digital materials automatable; physical mailing human
Collect biological specimens. Send information, materials or documentation.
#14863 · Core · 24% automatable
Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
physical manipulation — Hands-on measurement of agricultural products
Measure physical characteristics of forestry or agricultural products.
#14866 · Core · 55% automatable
Provide consultative services in areas such as equipment or product evaluation, plant construction or layout, or food safety systems.
decision support — General guidance good; site-specific judgment needs human
Advise others on farming or forestry operations, regulations, or equipment.
#14854 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14853 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14857 · Supplemental · 9% automatable
Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates.
physical manipulation — Marking forestry products is manual field work
Mark agricultural or forestry products for identification. Package agricultural products for shipment or further processing.
#14855 · Supplemental · 50% automatable
Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised.
interpersonal — Warning individuals is live, relational, accountable
Warn individuals about rule violations or safety concerns.
#14865 · Supplemental · 38% automatable
Review and monitor foreign product inspection systems in countries of origin to ensure equivalence to the U.S. system.
decision support — AI monitors logs; human owns operational compliance judgment
Inspect operational processes. Monitor operational activities to ensure compliance with regulations or standard operating procedures. Inspect equipment or systems.
#14864 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Compare product recipes with government-approved formulas or recipes to determine acceptability.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14856 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Monitor the grading performed by company employees to verify conformance to standards.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
#14847 · Supplemental · 26% automatable
Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals.
visual inspection — Product inspection needs physical visual/tactile check
Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met. Examine animals to detect illness, injury or other problems.
#14859 · Supplemental · 40% automatable
Set standards for the production of meat or poultry products or for food ingredients, additives, or compounds used to prepare or package products.
text generation — AI drafts standards; committee consensus and authority human
Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures. Prepare meat products for sale or consumption. Establish standards for products, processes, or procedures.
#14860 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Direct or monitor the quarantine and treatment or destruction of plants or plant products.
decision support — Compliance coordination needs human accountability and site action
Monitor processes for compliance with standards. Dispose of trash or waste materials. Care for plants or animals. Coordinate safety or regulatory compliance activities.
#14861 · Supplemental · 5% automatable
Inquire about pesticides or chemicals to which animals may have been exposed.
physical manipulation — Animal care requires hands-on handling of unpredictable animals
Care for animals. Provide care for animals.
#14862 · Supplemental · 32% automatable
Set labeling standards and approve labels for meat or poultry products.
text generation — AI drafts standards; committee consensus and authority human
Prepare meat products for sale or consumption. Establish standards for products, processes, or procedures.
#14867 · Supplemental · 58% automatable
Advise farmers or growers of development programs or new equipment or techniques to aid in quality production.
decision support — New-tech advice needs organizational context judgment
Advise others on the development or use of new technologies. Advise others on issues related to repairs, installation, or equipment design. Advise others on career or personal development.
#14868 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Testify in legal proceedings.
interpersonal — Testimony carries legal accountability and live presence
Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
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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
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