# Precision Agriculture Technicians

> Apply geospatial technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS), to agricultural production or management activities, such as pest scouting, site-specific pesticide application, yield mapping, or variable-rate irrigation. May use computers to develop or analyze maps or remote sensing images to compare physical topography with data on soils, fertilizer, pests, or weather.

- **SOC code:** 19-4012.01
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-4012-01
- **Also known as:** Agronomist, Crop Specialist, Precision Agriculture Specialist (Precision Ag Specialist), Precision Agronomist, Agrintelligence Specialist (Agriculture Intelligence Specialist), Agronomy Consultant, Crop Consultant, Precision Agriculture Analyst (Precision Ag Analyst)
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Document and maintain records of precision agriculture information.
- Collect information about soil or field attributes, yield data, or field boundaries, using field data recorders and basic geographic information systems (GIS).
- Use geospatial technology to develop soil sampling grids or identify sampling sites for testing characteristics such as nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium content, pH, or micronutrients.
- Divide agricultural fields into georeferenced zones, based on soil characteristics and production potentials.
- Install, calibrate, or maintain sensors, mechanical controls, GPS-based vehicle guidance systems, or computer settings.
- Create, layer, and analyze maps showing precision agricultural data, such as crop yields, soil characteristics, input applications, terrain, drainage patterns, or field management history.
- Compare crop yield maps with maps of soil test data, chemical application patterns, or other information to develop site-specific crop management plans.
- Analyze geospatial data to determine agricultural implications of factors such as soil quality, terrain, field productivity, fertilizers, or weather conditions.
- Identify spatial coordinates, using remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
- Analyze data from harvester monitors to develop yield maps.
- Apply precision agriculture information to specifically reduce the negative environmental impacts of farming practices.
- Demonstrate the applications of geospatial technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), automatic tractor guidance systems, variable rate chemical input applicators, surveying equipment, or computer mapping software.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Operate drone technology to capture aerial imagery and data for crop monitoring and analysis.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Written Expression _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Word _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology, in demand)_
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Ag Leader Technology SMS Advanced
- AGCO GTA Software Suite
- ESRI ArcPad
- ESRI ArcView

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 59th percentile (Moderate) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 79th percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 42nd percentile (Moderate) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.3% growth (About average); 2.9k annual openings; 18.6k → 19.4k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $46,790; 14,340 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-19-4012-01_