Collect animal or crop samples.

“Collect animal or crop samples.” is a core task performed by Agricultural Technicians. Among the occupation's 26 rated tasks, workers place it 16th by importance (#11 most important). About 89% of workers say it is relevant to their job.

This is a single occupation-specific task statement from O*NET. The figures below describe how central the task is to the job and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the task will be automated.

Work activities this task rolls up to

O*NET groups concrete tasks into broader work activities shared across many occupations.

• Collect environmental or biological samples. in Handling and Moving Objects

AI exposure

The OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rates this task E0. No direct exposure — current language models give little or no time savings on this task.

Exposure measures whether a model could meaningfully speed the task up — it is an estimate of overlap with model capabilities, not a measure of whether the work will be done by software. The study's intermediate score (β) for this task is 0.00. Automation potential label: T0.

Other tasks in this occupation

• Prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring. · importance 4.3
• Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks. · importance 4.3
• Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care. · importance 4.2
• Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness. · importance 4.0
• Conduct studies of nitrogen or alternative fertilizer application methods, quantities, or timing to ensure satisfaction of crop needs and minimization of leaching, runoff, or denitrification. · importance 3.9
• Prepare laboratory samples for analysis, following proper protocols to ensure that they will be stored, prepared, and disposed of efficiently and effectively. · importance 3.9
• Measure or weigh ingredients used in laboratory testing. · importance 3.9
• Perform tests on seeds to evaluate seed viability. · importance 3.9
• Perform crop production duties, such as tilling, hoeing, pruning, weeding, or harvesting crops. · importance 3.9
• Prepare data summaries, reports, or analyses that include results, charts, or graphs to document research findings and results. · importance 3.9
• Perform laboratory or field testing, using spectrometers, nitrogen determination apparatus, air samplers, centrifuges, or potential hydrogen (pH) meters to perform tests. · importance 3.7
• Examine animals or crop specimens to determine the presence of diseases or other problems. · importance 3.7
• Supervise pest or weed control operations, including locating and identifying pests or weeds, selecting chemicals and application methods, or scheduling application. · importance 3.7
• Set up laboratory or field equipment as required for site testing. · importance 3.6

See all tasks on the Agricultural Technicians page.

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
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-task-20530,
  title  = {Collect animal or crop samples.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/tasks/task-20530}
}