Agricultural Equipment Operators
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry · SOC 45-2091
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 45-2091 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 52/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $41,730
- H-1B offered wage $39,083; LCAs are filings.
- Projected openings
- 12,100
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +7.7%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 1
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 13,578 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
Common titles: Baler Operator, Cutter Operator, Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Hay Baler, Loader Operator
Representative Tasks
- •Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
- •Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
- •Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
- •Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
- •Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Load agricultural or forestry products for shipment.
- •Prepare materials or solutions for animal or plant use.
- •Apply chemical solutions to plants to protect against disease or insects or to enhance growth.
- •Inspect equipment or facilities to determine condition or maintenance needs.
- •Operate farming equipment.
Tools & Technologies
Related Occupations
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| Outlook | Bright ↗ | 9% Bright |
| Median Salary | $41,730 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |