Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products
Also called: Buyer, Grain Buyer, Grain Merchandiser, Purchasing AgentPurchase 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.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 4 of its 9 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 6.0% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
BLS figures cover the broader occupation “Buyers and purchasing agents”, which includes this one and others.
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.5% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 21% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $74,030 | $57,340 to $98,580 | 8,960 |
| Alaska | $83,460 | $66,750 to $106,870 | 890 |
| Arizona | $75,340 | $60,710 to $92,790 | 10,870 |
| Arkansas | $75,870 | $54,400 to $106,110 | 4,510 |
| California | $82,720 | $66,150 to $107,490 | 48,010 |
| Colorado | $83,590 | $66,500 to $105,390 | 10,080 |
| Connecticut | $83,030 | $65,350 to $102,890 | 5,530 |
| Delaware | $82,920 | $67,150 to $100,660 | 1,400 |
| District of Columbia | $124,090 | $93,040 to $144,680 | 1,880 |
| Florida | $72,850 | $54,540 to $97,130 | 30,270 |
| Georgia | $74,530 | $61,110 to $98,420 | 15,710 |
| Guam | $68,360 | $49,520 to $94,520 | 250 |
| Hawaii | $74,240 | $59,990 to $99,310 | 1,720 |
| Idaho | $69,240 | $57,610 to $84,930 | 1,610 |
| Illinois | $78,470 | $61,940 to $100,530 | 19,660 |
| Indiana | $69,350 | $56,340 to $85,870 | 10,720 |
| Iowa | $70,360 | $58,310 to $82,480 | 4,570 |
| Kansas | $69,500 | $54,920 to $90,060 | 6,470 |
| Kentucky | $65,240 | $51,660 to $83,340 | 5,440 |
| Louisiana | $66,340 | $55,550 to $88,610 | 3,440 |
| Maine | $77,630 | $59,370 to $100,350 | 1,180 |
| Maryland | $90,900 | $68,370 to $123,300 | 8,900 |
| Massachusetts | $85,970 | $66,400 to $115,230 | 12,820 |
| Michigan | $75,900 | $59,450 to $98,950 | 16,680 |
| Minnesota | $80,370 | $64,570 to $101,360 | 10,960 |
| Mississippi | $71,850 | $53,940 to $92,950 | 2,240 |
| Missouri | $65,650 | $55,480 to $85,180 | 8,070 |
| Montana | $62,850 | $49,860 to $78,980 | 1,230 |
| Nebraska | $74,950 | $59,990 to $92,480 | 2,850 |
| Nevada | $72,990 | $58,190 to $89,340 | 2,310 |
| New Hampshire | $77,270 | $61,760 to $98,600 | 2,580 |
| New Jersey | $93,250 | $75,030 to $116,430 | 12,180 |
| New Mexico | $76,740 | $59,980 to $103,400 | 2,250 |
| New York | $79,460 | $64,560 to $102,100 | 31,240 |
| North Carolina | $75,880 | $60,000 to $97,550 | 14,290 |
| North Dakota | $76,400 | $61,030 to $88,610 | 880 |
| Ohio | $76,410 | $60,060 to $95,630 | 21,640 |
| Oklahoma | $71,850 | $56,060 to $95,330 | 4,750 |
| Oregon | $75,050 | $56,600 to $98,110 | 7,090 |
| Pennsylvania | $73,550 | $56,340 to $95,960 | 17,430 |
| Puerto Rico | $36,750 | $22,690 to $50,270 | 4,390 |
| Rhode Island | $86,240 | $66,570 to $91,260 | not published |
| South Carolina | $75,550 | $58,430 to $98,230 | 6,150 |
| South Dakota | $73,990 | $62,760 to $90,740 | 1,180 |
| Tennessee | $65,430 | $49,530 to $82,600 | 11,420 |
| Texas | $76,050 | $59,470 to $97,730 | 44,030 |
| Utah | $74,540 | $58,830 to $96,570 | 4,090 |
| Vermont | $65,330 | $51,970 to $95,680 | 1,010 |
| Virgin Islands | $52,480 | $39,560 to $77,950 | 50 |
| Virginia | $89,210 | $65,100 to $120,390 | 22,120 |
| Washington | $85,130 | $68,820 to $108,240 | 15,400 |
| West Virginia | $75,670 | $57,830 to $94,520 | 1,130 |
| Wisconsin | $70,880 | $58,680 to $85,210 | 9,240 |
| Wyoming | $72,200 | $55,430 to $91,520 | 570 |
Nationally: $77,710. State figures are for BLS's “Buyers and purchasing agents”. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 4 of its 9 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Negotiate contracts with farmers for the production or purchase of farm products. | Not published |
| Not much | Purchase, for further processing or for resale, farm products, such as milk, grains, or Christmas trees. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain records of business transactions and product inventories, reporting data to companies or government agencies as necessary. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Arrange for transportation or storage of purchased products. | Not published |
| AI + software | Review orders to determine product types and quantities required to meet demand. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Coordinate or direct activities of workers engaged in cutting, transporting, storing, or milling products and maintaining records. | Not published |
See all 9 tasks
| Not much | Arrange for processing or resale of purchased products. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine or test crops or products to estimate their value, determine their grade, or locate any evidence of disease or insect damage. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| AI alone | Estimate land production possibilities, surveying property and studying factors such as crop rotation history, soil fertility, or irrigation facilities. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 2 of the 9 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 9 tasks fall under 10 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #36 Purchase goods or services
- #39 Determine values or prices of goods or services
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase goods or services | |||
| Determine values or prices of goods or services | |||
| Execute financial transactions | |||
| Analyze data to improve operations | |||
| Evaluate condition of financial assets, property, or other resources | |||
| Coordinate activities with clients, agencies, or organizations | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures |
Show all 10 activities
| Negotiate contracts or agreements | |||
| Supervise personnel activities |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Data or a spreadsheet29%
- A document or report18%
- Math or a calculation11%
- An analysis or summary8%
- A plan or strategy7%
How they worked with Claude
60% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for buyers and purchasing agents, farm products specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 141,343 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 10%
- 2 Purchasing Managers Very high +4.0% 7%
- 3 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 4%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 3%
- 5 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 170,296 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 8%
- 2 Purchasing Managers Very high +4.0% 4%
- 3 Customer Service Representatives Very high -5.3% 3%
- 4 First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers High -3.7% 3%
- 5 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Very high -0.9% 3%
Combined from the 2010 occupations “Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products”, “Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products” and “Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products”, which BLS merged into yours. Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% less than high school
- 23% high school
- 22% some college
- 10% associate's
- 32% bachelor's
- 8% master's
- 1% professional degree
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 5,603 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
10.6% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a certification | 2.3% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | <0.5% | 2.8% |
| a license | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
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