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AI exposure Farming, fishing and forestry

Will AI replace farmworkers and laborers?

Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse. US occupation 45-2092.

2.0%

of the time farmworkers and laborers spend on their work goes on tasks where AI is already being used to do that work.of farmworkers and laborers' working hours go on tasks AI has already started taking off their plate.

Ranked 322 of 756 US occupations. More exposed than 57% of them.Further along than 57% of them.

Average US job 7.7%

Around the middle of the pack.Keeping pace with the average job.

What AI already does for farmworkers and laborersWhat farmworkers and laborers no longer do alone

O*NET lists 27 tasks for farmworkers and laborers. AI use at work shows up in 1 of them. Each score runs from 0.5, where every observed use helps a person with the task, to 1, where every use does the task outright.

  1. Provide information and advice to the public regarding the selection, purchase, and care of products. mostly automated 0.91

What it does not touch, yetWhat still needs a human

26 of the 27 tasks show no AI use at work in the data.

  • Clean work areas, and maintain grounds and landscaping.Core task
  • Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.Core task
  • Harvest fruits and vegetables by hand.Core task
  • Harvest plants, and transplant or pot and label them.Core task
  • Identify plants, pests, and weeds to determine the selection and application of pesticides and fertilizers.Core task
  • Inform farmers or farm managers of crop progress.Core task
Show the other 20
  • Load agricultural products into trucks, and drive trucks to market or storage facilities.Core task
  • Operate tractors, tractor-drawn machinery, and self-propelled machinery to plow, harrow and fertilize soil, or to plant, cultivate, spray and harvest crops.Core task
  • Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.Core task
  • Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.Core task
  • Repair and maintain farm vehicles, implements, and mechanical equipment.Core task
  • Set up and operate irrigation equipment.Core task
  • Dig, cut, and transplant seedlings, cuttings, trees, and shrubs.
  • Dig, rake, and screen soil, filling cold frames and hot beds in preparation for planting.
  • Feel plants' leaves and note their coloring to detect the presence of insects or disease.
  • Haul and spread topsoil, fertilizer, peat moss, and other materials to condition soil, using wheelbarrows or carts and shovels.
  • Inspect plants and bud ties to assess quality.
  • Maintain and repair irrigation and climate control systems.
  • Maintain inventory, ordering materials as required.
  • Move containerized shrubs, plants, and trees, using wheelbarrows or tractors.
  • Plant, spray, weed, fertilize, water, and prune plants, shrubs, and trees, using gardening tools.
  • Record information about plants and plant growth.
  • Regulate greenhouse conditions, and indoor and outdoor irrigation systems.
  • Repair farm buildings, fences, and other structures.
  • Sell and deliver plants and flowers to customers.
  • Tie and bunch flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees, wrap their roots, and pack them into boxes to fill orders.

How that compares

Among the 11 farming, fishing and forestry occupations, farmworkers and laborers rank 1. The group averages 0.2%. The average US occupation sits at 7.7%.

All 756 occupations, ranked

Just above in the ranking

  1. 320Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders 2.1%
  2. 322Broadcast Technicians 2.0%
  3. 322Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians 2.0%

Just below

  1. 325Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers 1.9%
  2. 326Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary 1.8%
  3. 326Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers 1.8%

What this does and does not mean

Exposure is observed use, not a forecast. Anthropic maps work conversations with Claude onto the tasks O*NET lists for each job and asks, of the tasks AI could speed up, which are actually being used for at work. A use that does the task outright counts in full and a use that assists a person counts half. The task scores are averaged into the occupation figure by the share of time spent on each task.

A high figure means AI is already part of how this work gets done. It does not mean anyone has been replaced. Anthropic's own reading of the labour market finds no systematic rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting exposed jobs.No measurable rise in unemployment among exposed workers so far, and about 14% fewer 22 to 25 year olds starting these jobs. Gap years for everyone. Labor market impacts, 5 March 2026.

Task list and titles from O*NET 31.0 by the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. Scores from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY). Checked 1 November 2026. How the ranking works.