Agricultural workers: AI exposure and career outlook
Agricultural workers (SOC 45-2090) sit at the 31st percentile for measured AI exposure among the 342 occupations tracked here, measured from a composite of Microsoft Research and Anthropic Economic Index telemetry. An estimated 16% of tasks are already automated and 36% are being reshaped rather than replaced — both modelled figures, not direct measurements. Of the Claude usage observed in this occupation, 63% follows an automation pattern and 37% an augmentation pattern, which places it in the Displacement risk group: the routine layer of this work is being automated outright. The judgment layer is not, so the move is to own more of it. In Canada the role maps to NOC 82030 (Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors), and ESDC's COPS 2024–2033 outlook for that unit group is balance.
Figures last updated 2026-06. Every number on this page is labelled measured or modelled; where a source has no coverage for this occupation, it says so rather than showing a zero.
Key facts
- SOC code
- 45-2090
- Canada NOC 2021
- 82030
- TEER level
- Not available
- COPS outlook
- Balance
What the measurements actually say
Three independent studies measure AI exposure for this occupation directly. The two percentages below them are ours, modelled from those measurements.
| Metric | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| AI applicability | 9% | Measured — Microsoft Research, from 200,000 Copilot conversations classified against O*NET work activities. Occupation-group average of 3 detailed roles. |
| Observed AI usage | 1% | Measured — Anthropic Economic Index, share of tasks observed being performed with Claude (CC-BY 4.0). Occupation-group average of 3 detailed roles. |
| Academic AI exposure | 9th percentile | Measured — Felten-Raj-Seamans AIOE index across 774 occupations; the index underlying Statistics Canada's Canadian estimates. Occupation-group average of 3 detailed roles. |
| Automation-pattern usage | 63% | Measured — the share of observed Claude usage in this occupation where the task is handed over rather than iterated on (Anthropic Economic Index). Occupation-group average of 2 detailed roles. |
| Augmentation-pattern usage | 37% | Measured — the complement of the row above; the two sum to 100% by construction. This is the pattern where the person stays in the loop. |
| Estimated task automation (modelled) | 16% | Modelled from this occupation's measured telemetry composite, mapped through anchors calibrated to Anthropic's published aggregate findings. Our estimate, not per-occupation telemetry. |
| Estimated task reshaping (modelled) | 36% | Share of tasks where AI acts as co-pilot rather than replacement. Modelled from the measured telemetry composite, calibrated to BCG's published aggregate reshaping rates. Our estimate. |
AI is transforming how this work is done. Professionals who adapt their workflows will thrive; those who don't face increasing competition.
In Canada: NOC 82030
Agricultural workers map to NOC 82030 — Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors. ESDC's COPS 2024–2033 projection for this unit group is Balance.
Mapped via Statistics Canada's official SOC 2018 → NOC 2016 → NOC 2021 correspondence tables (closest match of several correspondence candidates). TEER is the second digit of the NOC code, so it is only as certain as the code is. Several correspondence candidates were available here and we took the closest by title, so we do not report a TEER level for it.
What this job actually involves
These are the O*NET task statements for Agricultural workers— the work itself, as reported by people doing the job — grouped by the work activity each task belongs to. Showing 12 of 63, core tasks first.
The exposure figures above are for the occupation as a whole. We do not have a per-task measurement: no published dataset tells us which of these specific tasks AI is doing. Read this as what the job is made of, not as a ranking of what is at risk.
Microsoft's applicability score was itself produced by classifying Copilot conversations against the O*NET work-activity catalogue — the same catalogue these groups come from. The published file gives one number per occupation, not one per activity, so we can tell you that 9% of this occupation's work activities are covered by observed AI usage, but not which ones.
SOC 45-2090 is a BLS occupation group. These statements are pooled across the 3 detailed occupations in it, so a given task may apply to only some of them.
Assisting and Caring for Others · 3 tasks
Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
Core task · Importance 4.5/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
Core task · Importance 4.4/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
Core task · Importance 4.2/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials · 2 tasks
Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Performing General Physical Activities · 2 tasks
Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
Core task · Importance 4.5/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
Core task · Importance 4.4/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Controlling Machines and Processes · 2 tasks
Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
Core task · Importance 4.2/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events · 1 task
Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
Core task · Importance 4.1/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Handling and Moving Objects · 1 task
Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Documenting/Recording Information · 1 task
Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
Core task · Importance 4.1/5 (O*NET) · reported by 1 of 3 occupations in this group
Task statements and work activities from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not reviewed or approved this material.
That's the average. Is this you?
Everything above describes Agricultural workers as a whole. Three questions, and nothing is stored or sent.
Where are you in your career?
What does your week mostly look like?
Is your employer deploying AI?
Where the leverage is
Upskill in AI-driven automation (e.g., Make, Zapier) and generative tools in your domain. The opportunity is to pivot from execution to directing AI-augmented workflows.
AI is transforming tasks rather than replacing entire jobs. Routine scheduling and communication automate, but human decision-making remains critical.
Obtain technical certifications in advanced diagnostic tools and smart systems relevant to agricultural workers to prepare for future technological integrations.
This guidance is written per exposure band — three texts across all 342 occupations, framed on the ILO's transformation-versus-displacement distinction. It is editorial guidance for the reshaping band, not an occupation-specific research finding about agricultural workers.
Sources for this occupation
Only the sources that hold data for agricultural workers are listed. A study that does not cover this occupation is not cited here.
- Microsoft Research — Working with AI (Tomlinson et al., arXiv:2507.07935): Measured AI applicability, from 200,000 anonymised Copilot conversations classified against O*NET work activities.
- Anthropic Economic Index: Measured observed AI usage per occupation, from Anthropic's open per-SOC dataset (CC-BY 4.0).
- Felten, Raj & Seamans — AI Occupational Exposure index: Measured academic exposure percentile; the index underlying Statistics Canada's Canadian AI-exposure estimates (Mehdi & Morissette, 2024).
- O*NET Database 31.0 (USDOL/ETA), CC BY 4.0: The occupation's task statements and work activities, verbatim. Joined on SOC 2018 with no crosswalk — O*NET-SOC is built on SOC — and carrying no claim about which tasks AI touches.
- Anthropic Economic Index — collaboration split (release 2026-06-26, CC-BY 4.0): Measured share of observed Claude usage following an automation rather than an augmentation pattern. This is the second axis of the grouping above.
- Statistics Canada NOC 2021 concordance: Official SOC 2018 → NOC 2016 V1.3 → NOC 2021 V1.0 correspondence tables. TEER is the second digit of the resolved code, so we report it only where the concordance gave a single candidate.
- ESDC COPS 2024–2033: Projected labour-market assessment per NOC 2021 unit group, from the Canadian Occupational Projection System open dataset.
- BCG — AI Will Reshape More Jobs Than It Replaces (April 3, 2026): Published aggregate reshaping rates, used to calibrate our modelled percentages. The per-occupation figures here are our estimates, not BCG's data.
Related occupations
Other roles in Trades & Healthcare.
This is the picture for the role. What about your skills?
These numbers describe an occupation, not a person. Map your own skills against them, see which pathways stay open, and plan the transition you actually want.