Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
Also called: Cowboy, Herdsman, Livestock Handler, Ranch HandAttend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 3 of its 19 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 3.2% 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 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.7.8 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 | $36,620 | $29,480 to $45,950 | 1,300 |
| Alaska | $50,450 | $46,590 to $59,700 | 40 |
| Arizona | $35,160 | $33,710 to $40,200 | 650 |
| Arkansas | $29,340 | $27,250 to $34,900 | 460 |
| California | $38,640 | $35,760 to $46,270 | 3,600 |
| Colorado | $39,740 | $35,360 to $47,540 | 1,270 |
| Connecticut | $35,140 | $34,010 to $38,540 | 90 |
| Delaware | $36,940 | $31,200 to $46,130 | 90 |
| Florida | $36,790 | $33,610 to $44,770 | 820 |
| Georgia | $28,410 | $24,960 to $32,970 | 690 |
| Hawaii | $47,050 | $42,250 to $51,450 | 160 |
| Idaho | $40,580 | $31,200 to $46,100 | 480 |
| Illinois | $33,840 | $31,200 to $35,920 | 450 |
| Indiana | $37,530 | $28,100 to $44,540 | 420 |
| Iowa | $36,480 | $30,750 to $48,760 | 1,240 |
| Kansas | $37,060 | $35,210 to $44,160 | 1,340 |
| Kentucky | $38,030 | $32,650 to $49,990 | 700 |
| Louisiana | $31,940 | $20,800 to $41,620 | 80 |
| Maine | $42,170 | $34,280 to $47,350 | 140 |
| Maryland | $41,760 | $32,730 to $61,070 | 310 |
| Massachusetts | $38,280 | $37,100 to $47,860 | 270 |
| Michigan | $32,660 | $29,240 to $36,720 | 750 |
| Minnesota | $46,020 | $36,640 to $54,910 | 580 |
| Mississippi | $37,430 | $20,800 to $42,200 | 290 |
| Missouri | $32,950 | $30,650 to $43,900 | 1,310 |
| Montana | $37,010 | $35,540 to $42,850 | 660 |
| Nebraska | $37,220 | $37,220 to $43,440 | 570 |
| Nevada | $31,700 | $28,530 to $38,940 | 210 |
| New Hampshire | $39,520 | $31,280 to $52,830 | 130 |
| New Jersey | $38,960 | $38,380 to $46,160 | 250 |
| New Mexico | $36,400 | $25,360 to $47,370 | 330 |
| New York | $34,860 | $34,320 to $39,200 | 530 |
| North Carolina | $38,750 | $32,610 to $46,550 | 910 |
| North Dakota | $40,320 | $37,380 to $40,320 | 130 |
| Ohio | $31,200 | $27,970 to $35,590 | 1,160 |
| Oklahoma | $33,670 | $21,980 to $38,830 | 420 |
| Oregon | $35,480 | $33,740 to $41,400 | 700 |
| Pennsylvania | $35,360 | $28,700 to $43,050 | 1,330 |
| South Carolina | $35,090 | $22,010 to $45,540 | 190 |
| South Dakota | $38,000 | $37,280 to $48,870 | 100 |
| Tennessee | $33,720 | $30,750 to $42,460 | 450 |
| Texas | $33,920 | $28,160 to $43,130 | 3,750 |
| Utah | $32,970 | $29,770 to $43,450 | 80 |
| Vermont | $40,730 | $35,990 to $51,990 | 80 |
| Virginia | $38,670 | $33,780 to $50,560 | 630 |
| Washington | $45,370 | $39,400 to $55,570 | 1,100 |
| West Virginia | $48,460 | $45,310 to $57,410 | 40 |
| Wisconsin | $32,970 | $27,370 to $47,550 | 930 |
| Wyoming | $38,920 | $28,790 to $46,330 | 470 |
Nationally: $36,670. 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 3 of its 19 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies. | Not published |
| Not much | Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences. | Not published |
| Not much | Move equipment, poultry, or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts. | Not published |
| AI + software | Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition. | Not published |
| Not much | Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures. | Not published |
See all 19 tasks
| Not much | Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps. | Not published |
| AI + software | Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos. | Not published |
| Not much | Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals. | Not published |
| Not much | Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions. | Not published |
| Not much | Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food. | Not published |
| Not much | Groom, clip, trim, or castrate animals, dock ears and tails, or shear coats to collect hair. | Not published |
| Not much | Spray livestock with disinfectants and insecticides, or dip or bathe animals. | Not published |
| Not much | Order food for animals, and arrange for its delivery. | Not published |
| Not much | Perform duties related to livestock reproduction, such as breeding animals within appropriate timeframes, performing artificial inseminations, and helping with animal births. | Not published |
| Not much | Patrol grazing lands on horseback or using all-terrain vehicles. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain growth, feeding, production, and cost records. | Not published |
| Not much | Protect herds from predators, using trained dogs. | 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 19 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 19 tasks fall under 12 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.
- #45 Research biological or ecological phenomena
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care for plants or animals | |||
| Operate agricultural or forestry equipment | |||
| Research biological or ecological phenomena | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions | |||
| Maintain tools or equipment | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Mark materials or objects for identification | |||
| Maintain operational records |
Show all 12 activities
| Treat injuries, illnesses, or diseases | |||
| Examine people or animals to assess health conditions or physical characteristics | |||
| Move materials, equipment, or supplies | |||
| Replenish inventories of materials, equipment, or products |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer63%
- Advice or a recommendation21%
- An analysis or summary5%
- Data or a spreadsheet5%
- An academic paper or thesis0%
How they worked with Claude
5% 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 farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals 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 4,593 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 10%
- 2 Photographers High -0.7% 4%
- 3 Private Detectives and Investigators High +5.5% 4%
- 4 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 4%
- 5 Construction Managers High +9.1% 3%
Where people moved in from
of 2,948 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
- 2 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 4%
- 3 Retail Salespersons Very high -0.3% 4%
- 4 Cashiers High -6.5% 4%
- 5 Photographers High -0.7% 3%
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
- 18% less than high school
- 25% high school
- 8% postsecondary certificate
- 39% some college
- 9% associate's
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 32 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: Apiculture.
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 (FISH HATCHERY WORKER). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals” 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/45-2093.00