Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Agricultural Inspectors
Occupation · SOC 45-2011.00
Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.
Also called: Brand Inspector · Consumer Safety Inspector (CSI) · Grain Inspector · Inspector · Food Inspector · Food Safety and Inspection Service Inspector (FSIS Inspector) · Food Sanitarian · Seed and Fertilizer Specialist · Shipping Point Inspector · Agricultural Commodities Inspector · Agricultural Commodity Grader · Agricultural Inspector
Job family: Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-45-2011-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+1.5% by 2034)
- 2,200 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $50,990/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (86th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (39th)
39th-percentile task overlap — yet about 2,200 openings a year (+1.5% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 53rd | 0.2 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 44th | 0.5 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 26th | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.5). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.9 · 86th percentile among occupations · High
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken. | 0.4% | |
| Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat. | 0.3% | |
| Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements. | 0.2% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +1.5% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 2,200 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 14,700 → 14,900 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international 3 occupations below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Agricultural Inspectors sits at the 54th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
28% mean task exposure (2025)
54th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−5 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Government Regulatory AssociatePprofessionals Not Elsewhere Classified · 3359 | 36% | Minimal |
| Food and Beverage Tasters and Graders · 7515 | 31% | Minimal |
| Environmental and Occupational Health Inspectors and Associates · 3257 | 24% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat. Core · importance 4.6
- Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety. Supplemental · importance 4.6
- Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates. Supplemental · importance 4.6
- Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised. Supplemental · importance 4.5
- Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers. Core · importance 4.4
- Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements. Supplemental · importance 4.4
- Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Monitor the grading performed by company employees to verify conformance to standards. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken. Supplemental · importance 4.1
- Collect samples from animals, plants, or products and route them to laboratories for microbiological assessment, ingredient verification, or other testing. Supplemental · importance 4.0
- Provide consultative services in areas such as equipment or product evaluation, plant construction or layout, or food safety systems. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Testify in legal proceedings. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Compare product recipes with government-approved formulas or recipes to determine acceptability. Supplemental · importance 3.7
- Advise farmers or growers of development programs or new equipment or techniques to aid in quality production. Supplemental
- Direct or monitor the quarantine and treatment or destruction of plants or plant products. Supplemental
- Inquire about pesticides or chemicals to which animals may have been exposed. Supplemental
- Review and monitor foreign product inspection systems in countries of origin to ensure equivalence to the U.S. system. Supplemental
- Set labeling standards and approve labels for meat or poultry products. Supplemental
- Set standards for the production of meat or poultry products or for food ingredients, additives, or compounds used to prepare or package products. Supplemental
Work activities
- Inspect products or operations to ensure that standards are met.
- Examine animals to detect illness, injury or other problems.
- Collect biological specimens.
- Send information, materials or documentation.
- Advise others on farming or forestry operations, regulations, or equipment.
- Maintain operational records.
- Warn individuals about rule violations or safety concerns.
- Mark agricultural or forestry products for identification.
- Package agricultural products for shipment or further processing.
- Measure physical characteristics of forestry or agricultural products.
- Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Transferable skills
| Quality Control Analysis | 4.1 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.3 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | |
| Coordination | 3.1 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | |
| Systems Analysis | 3.1 | |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.1 | |
| Instructing | 3.0 |
Abilities
| Problem Sensitivity | 4.0 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.8 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.6 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.5 | |
| Far Vision | 3.5 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.5 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.3 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.3 | |
| Written Expression | 3.1 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.1 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.1 | |
| Speed of Closure | 3.1 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.0 | |
| Auditory Attention | 3.0 |
Essential skills
| Reading Comprehension | 3.8 | |
| Active Listening | 3.8 | |
| Monitoring | 3.8 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.6 | |
| Speaking | 3.5 | |
| Active Learning | 3.3 | |
| Writing | 3.1 |
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.5 | |
| Administration and Management | 3.4 | |
| Law and Government | 3.3 | |
| Administrative | 3.3 | |
| Mathematics | 3.2 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.2 | |
| English Language | 3.1 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology In demand |
| Microsoft Access | Data base user interface and query software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Outlook | Electronic mail software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft PowerPoint | Presentation software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Word | Word processing software | Hot technology |
| Image processing software | Graphics or photo imaging software | |
| Microsoft Internet Explorer | Internet browser software | |
| Operational databases | Data base user interface and query software |
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 56.2% | |
| Some College Courses | 12.5% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 12.2% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 10.3% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 7.0% | |
| First Professional Degree | 1.8% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 5.3 | |
| Conventional | 5.2 | |
| Investigative | 4.0 | |
| Enterprising | 3.1 |
Interest areas
| Agriculture | 4.2 | |
| Law | 3.2 | |
| Protective Service | 3.1 | |
| Life Science | 2.7 | |
| Nature/Outdoors | 2.5 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 2.3 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.2 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.1 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Integrity | 2.5 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.2 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $37,440 |
| 25th percentile | $42,740 |
| Median (50th) | $50,990 |
| 75th percentile | $64,960 |
| 90th percentile | $80,240 |
| People employed | 12,090 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing · Sector | 980 | $45,670 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 870 | $55,970 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 590 | $47,330 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 500 | $41,180 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 170 | $51,900 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 130 | $44,360 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 110 | $90,340 |
| Testing Laboratories and Services · National industry | 80 | $47,400 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 80 | $52,460 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 40 | $37,440 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 15.06× | 500 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 1.84× | 870 |
| Manufacturing · Sector | 0.98× | 980 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.7× | 590 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 0.37× | 130 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 0.29× | 170 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 0.16× | 110 |
Related occupations
Part of the Agriculture career cluster.
- Construction and Building Inspectors · 47-4011.00 Compare →
- Food Science Technicians · 19-4013.00 Compare →
- First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers · 45-1011.00 Compare →
- Aviation Inspectors · 53-6051.01 Compare →
- Agricultural Technicians · 19-4012.00 Compare →
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians · 19-5012.00 Compare →
- Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products · 45-2041.00 Compare →
- Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation · 53-6051.07 Compare →
- Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers · 51-9061.00 Compare →
- Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping · 43-5111.00 Compare →
- Food Scientists and Technologists · 19-1012.00 Compare →
- Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · 19-5011.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Agricultural Inspectors — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Bachelor's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 54th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Agricultural Inspectors show 39th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,200 annual U.S. openings
- Agricultural Inspectors rank in the 39th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 2,200 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.5%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $50,990, across about 12,090 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Agricultural Inspectors show 39th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 2,200 annual U.S. openings • Agricultural Inspectors rank in the 39th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 2,200 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.5%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $50,990, across about 12,090 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Agricultural Inspectors". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-45-2011-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Agricultural Inspectors." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-45-2011-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Agricultural Inspectors. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-45-2011-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-45-2011-00,
title = {Agricultural Inspectors},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-45-2011-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.