Agricultural Equipment Operators
Also called: Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Rake OperatorDrive 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.
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What the data says: AI couldn't halve the time on any of its 17 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 8.6% 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, 7.6% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous agricultural workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.8 hires for every 10 job openings in wholesale trade, which employs about 32% 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.7.8 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 | $33,910 | $28,930 to $36,920 | 370 |
| Arizona | $36,600 | $33,620 to $37,400 | 730 |
| Arkansas | $32,060 | $29,320 to $42,250 | 350 |
| California | $38,820 | $36,960 to $46,090 | 7,940 |
| Colorado | $37,290 | $34,040 to $44,940 | not published |
| Delaware | $49,910 | $46,120 to $57,100 | 40 |
| Florida | $36,660 | $34,490 to $42,120 | 790 |
| Georgia | $35,410 | $32,850 to $41,000 | 570 |
| Idaho | $38,920 | $37,370 to $42,780 | 490 |
| Illinois | $46,050 | $39,310 to $48,600 | 1,910 |
| Indiana | $46,280 | $43,370 to $51,320 | 810 |
| Iowa | $47,220 | $43,010 to $57,960 | 1,530 |
| Kansas | $45,570 | $39,670 to $48,380 | 670 |
| Kentucky | $42,000 | $40,150 to $46,260 | 190 |
| Louisiana | $58,520 | $36,350 to $61,000 | 270 |
| Maine | $46,490 | $46,490 to $46,490 | 60 |
| Maryland | $39,580 | $38,400 to $49,550 | 180 |
| Massachusetts | $49,150 | $37,590 to $58,140 | 40 |
| Michigan | $42,380 | $35,210 to $46,680 | 460 |
| Minnesota | $48,520 | $45,260 to $54,490 | 900 |
| Mississippi | $36,460 | $28,720 to $41,540 | 280 |
| Missouri | $46,490 | $39,250 to $58,870 | 900 |
| Montana | $58,770 | $45,500 to $65,890 | 130 |
| Nebraska | $46,670 | $41,000 to $57,760 | 1,090 |
| New Jersey | $41,660 | $38,480 to $47,640 | 70 |
| New Mexico | $35,580 | $35,580 to $37,730 | 130 |
| New York | $50,020 | $45,250 to $54,870 | not published |
| North Carolina | $39,580 | $28,940 to $46,540 | 550 |
| North Dakota | $48,080 | $44,090 to $54,260 | 430 |
| Ohio | $47,220 | $45,360 to $53,880 | 600 |
| Oklahoma | $34,900 | $26,880 to $54,960 | 170 |
| Oregon | $44,150 | $39,110 to $48,510 | 310 |
| Pennsylvania | $47,100 | $37,320 to $56,220 | 390 |
| South Carolina | $34,490 | $31,680 to $37,990 | 380 |
| South Dakota | $48,060 | $43,880 to $49,120 | 240 |
| Tennessee | $37,750 | $27,420 to $42,970 | 390 |
| Texas | $34,260 | $29,850 to $37,470 | 2,200 |
| Virginia | $47,890 | $44,240 to $54,740 | 120 |
| Washington | $38,470 | $37,520 to $49,210 | 550 |
| Wisconsin | $47,100 | $40,800 to $53,110 | 830 |
Nationally: $41,730. 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 none of its 17 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery. | Not published |
| Not much | Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions. | Not published |
See all 17 tasks
| Not much | Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers. | Not published |
| Not much | Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate towed machines such as seed drills or manure spreaders to plant, fertilize, dust, and spray crops. | Not published |
| Not much | Drive trucks to haul crops, supplies, tools, or farm workers. | Not published |
| Not much | Irrigate soil, using portable pipes or ditch systems, and maintain ditches or pipes and pumps. O*NET flags this task's ratings as uncertain | Not published |
| Not much | Position boxes or attach bags at discharge ends of machinery to catch products, removing and closing full containers. | Not published |
| Not much | Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities. | Not published |
| Not much | Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks. | Not published |
| Not much | Walk beside or ride on planting machines while inserting plants in planter mechanisms at specified intervals. | Not published |
| Not much | Weigh crop-filled containers, and record weights and other identifying information. | Not published |
| Not much | Guide products on conveyors to regulate flow through machines, and to discard diseased or rotten products. | 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. 0 of the 17 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 17 tasks fall under 13 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.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operate agricultural or forestry equipment | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Set up equipment | |||
| Load products, materials, or equipment for transportation or further processing | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment | |||
| Apply protective solutions or coatings |
Show all 13 activities
| Maintain operational records | |||
| Perform agricultural activities | |||
| Inspect commercial, industrial, or production systems or equipment | |||
| Operate industrial processing or production equipment | |||
| Manage agricultural or forestry operations |
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 equipment operators 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 988 moves out
- 1 Commercial and Industrial Designers High +2.4% 4%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 4%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 4 Sales Managers High +4.5% 4%
- 5 Medical Equipment Repairers Moderate +12.6% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 716 moves in
- 1 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 7%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 7%
- 3 Waiters and Waitresses Moderate +2.0% 4%
- 4 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 5 Cashiers High -6.5% 4%
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
- 57% less than high school
- 19% high school
- 14% postsecondary certificate
- 10% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 25 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 45% less than high school
- 30% high school
- 12% some college
- 5% associate's
- 7% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous agricultural workers” · 7,981 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
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous agricultural workers”
1 program: Agricultural Power Machinery Operation.
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 (FARM WORKER, GENERAL I). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Agricultural Equipment Operators” 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/45-2091.00