Agricultural Inspectors
Also called: Agricultural Commodities Grader (ACG), Apiary Inspector, Brand Inspector, Grain InspectorInspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 10 of its 22 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 2.3% by 2035. 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.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 5.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 61% 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.4.3 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 | $39,300 | $31,450 to $54,580 | 290 |
| Arizona | $45,700 | $37,440 to $52,820 | 160 |
| Arkansas | $42,060 | $39,440 to $44,820 | 410 |
| California | $53,620 | $41,980 to $77,550 | 2,340 |
| Colorado | $50,430 | $48,780 to $57,550 | 280 |
| Delaware | $51,590 | $48,970 to $76,820 | 90 |
| Florida | $43,990 | $36,090 to $50,340 | 520 |
| Georgia | $41,460 | $36,770 to $46,510 | 1,390 |
| Hawaii | $60,650 | $49,860 to $68,270 | 90 |
| Idaho | $48,650 | $38,040 to $56,240 | 280 |
| Illinois | $62,000 | $48,510 to $75,130 | 470 |
| Indiana | $48,560 | $41,860 to $60,430 | 480 |
| Iowa | $49,600 | $48,160 to $61,610 | 560 |
| Kansas | $51,630 | $43,890 to $63,270 | 190 |
| Kentucky | $46,640 | $42,710 to $59,030 | 270 |
| Louisiana | $63,130 | $55,420 to $69,420 | 150 |
| Maine | $41,760 | $37,610 to $56,470 | 110 |
| Maryland | $58,160 | $48,570 to $70,660 | 150 |
| Massachusetts | $46,510 | $44,250 to $75,250 | 70 |
| Michigan | $65,730 | $55,410 to $85,180 | 320 |
| Minnesota | $77,150 | $63,270 to $84,910 | 180 |
| Mississippi | $39,960 | $36,570 to $41,810 | 190 |
| Missouri | $46,220 | $40,090 to $53,870 | 450 |
| Nebraska | $55,090 | $47,060 to $58,210 | 370 |
| Nevada | $39,270 | $39,270 to $61,600 | 50 |
| New Jersey | $41,520 | $35,630 to $69,580 | 60 |
| New Mexico | $52,450 | $45,830 to $59,180 | 170 |
| New York | $73,920 | $64,990 to $82,640 | 340 |
| North Carolina | $47,760 | $41,450 to $55,250 | 290 |
| North Dakota | $57,590 | $47,280 to $63,110 | 80 |
| Ohio | $69,280 | $58,160 to $71,860 | 210 |
| Oklahoma | $53,060 | $45,810 to $58,010 | 170 |
| Oregon | $53,060 | $48,420 to $55,660 | 110 |
| Pennsylvania | $55,650 | $48,660 to $69,910 | 520 |
| South Carolina | $49,940 | $44,840 to $61,610 | 90 |
| Tennessee | $47,840 | $44,110 to $51,580 | 410 |
| Texas | $49,940 | $43,160 to $69,240 | 590 |
| Utah | $53,930 | $41,290 to $64,520 | 120 |
| Vermont | $63,630 | $57,870 to $74,420 | 60 |
| Virginia | $47,380 | $44,670 to $56,980 | 380 |
| Washington | $62,880 | $51,580 to $71,140 | 450 |
| Wisconsin | $53,640 | $45,450 to $61,170 | 220 |
| Wyoming | $36,670 | $34,120 to $40,350 | 150 |
Nationally: $49,940. 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 10 of its 22 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety. | Not published |
| AI alone | Collect samples from animals, plants, or products and route them to laboratories for microbiological assessment, ingredient verification, or other testing. | Not published |
| AI + software | Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers. | Not published |
| Not much | Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide consultative services in areas such as equipment or product evaluation, plant construction or layout, or food safety systems. | Not published |
See all 22 tasks
| Not much | Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat. | Not published |
| AI + software | Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken. | 0.01% |
| Not much | Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights. | Not published |
| Not much | Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor the grading performed by company employees to verify conformance to standards. | Not published |
| AI + software | Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised. | Not published |
| Not much | Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct or monitor the quarantine and treatment or destruction of plants or plant products. | Not published |
| Not much | Review and monitor foreign product inspection systems in countries of origin to ensure equivalence to the U.S. system. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals. | Not published |
| AI alone | Set labeling standards and approve labels for meat or poultry products. | Not published |
| AI + software | Inquire about pesticides or chemicals to which animals may have been exposed. | Not published |
| AI alone | Set standards for the production of meat or poultry products or for food ingredients, additives, or compounds used to prepare or package products. | Not published |
| Not much | Compare product recipes with government-approved formulas or recipes to determine acceptability. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| AI + software | Advise farmers or growers of development programs or new equipment or techniques to aid in quality production. | Not published |
| AI + software | Testify in legal proceedings. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | 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. 1 of the 22 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 22 tasks fall under 21 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.
- #43 Advise others on the design or use of technologies
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor operations to ensure compliance with regulations or standards | |||
| Advise others on business or operational matters | |||
| Develop operational or technical procedures or standards | |||
| Care for plants or animals | |||
| Prepare foods or beverages | |||
| Advise others on the design or use of technologies | |||
| Advise others on educational or vocational matters | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment |
Show all 21 activities
| Monitor operations to ensure adequate performance | |||
| Mark materials or objects for identification | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Notify others of emergencies or problems | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Coordinate regulatory compliance activities | |||
| Develop safety standards, policies, or procedures | |||
| Process shipments or mail | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Package objects | |||
| Collect environmental or biological samples | |||
| Present information in legal proceedings |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Advice or a recommendation26%
- An explanation or answer24%
- A plan or strategy14%
- A document or report14%
- A chart or visualization6%
How they worked with Claude
50% 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 agricultural inspectors 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 in from
of 616 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 10%
- 2 Team Assemblers 6%
- 3 Counselors, All Other High +5.9% 6%
- 4 Funeral Home Managers High +4.1% 5%
- 5 Tellers High -13.2% 5%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 7% less than high school
- 56% high school
- 12% some college
- 12% associate's
- 10% bachelor's
- 2% professional doctorate
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 31 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% less than high school
- 36% high school
- 20% some college
- 1% associate's
- 30% bachelor's
- 8% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 124 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
1 program: Agricultural and Food Products Processing.
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
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
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Agricultural Commodity Grader). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Agricultural Inspectors” there.
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
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/45-2011.00