Will AI replace Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse?

Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. The percentage shown is a task-exposure model, not a prediction of certain job loss.

O*NET 30.3 · 45-2092.00 · modeled exposure, not guaranteed job loss
LOW TASK EXPOSURE
15%
Estimated share of representative tasks exposed to current AI capabilities.
Last updatedAugust 20, 2026
Evidence confidenceMedium
Browse this risk tierLower exposure jobs →
Task automation shareⓘ
15%Automatable
Automatable15%
Augmentable47%
Hard to automate38%
Based on analysis of representative responsibilities and current AI capability maturity.
Category#
Trades & Physical
Field & Physical
Modeled pay midpoint$
$90,500/yr
Directional estimate — verify locally
Time until impact⌁
6–10+ years
Earliest 2032 · widespread 2036+
Task-level replaceability ⓘ
Representative tasks ranked from highest to lowest AI exposure.
✦Physical dexterity in unpredictable settings29%
◇Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.25%
✦Safety responsibility and on-site judgment25%
⚙Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.17%
▥Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.12%
Impact timeline ⓘ
How AI assistance may move from early support to wider adoption.
2032Next2036+
Light supportAI provides limited help with record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs..
AugmentationTools improve productivity without owning outcomes.
Human-ledCore work stays anchored in physical dexterity in unpredictable settings.
6–10+ yearsdirectional confidence window
HOW AI CHANGES THIS JOBtyping the logic in plain English
01>Start with the real work done by Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse.
02>AI can help with: Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.
03>If a task is repetitive and easy to check, AI pressure goes up.
04>But a person is still needed for: Physical dexterity in unpredictable settings.
05>Likely result: AI mostly acts as a helper while the core job stays human-led.
06>Important: 15% is estimated task exposure—not a 15% chance of losing the job.
What AI can do
Record information about crops, such as pesticide use, yields, or costs.LOW MATCH
Direct and monitor the work of casual and seasonal help during planting and harvesting.LOW MATCH
Participate in the inspection, grading, sorting, storage, and post-harvest treatment of crops.LOW MATCH
How estimates work →
Your human moat
◆

Physical dexterity in unpredictable settings

HIGH MOAT

Combined with safety responsibility and on-site judgment, this keeps a human in the loop.

Strength9.7
Similar-role comparison
RoleRisk
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse15%
Sheet Metal Workers14%
Extraction Workers, All Other14%
Helpers--Extraction Workers17%
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Why this score?

✓The model evaluates 3 representative core tasks.
✓The core work depends on presence, dexterity, or accountability.
✓Occupation and task language comes from O*NET 30.3.
✓The strongest human advantage is physical dexterity in unpredictable settings.
Research basis

O*NET 30.3 occupation tasks plus the ILO 2025 exposure framework. Scores are directional estimates.

Read ILO research →
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Sources for this report

Official occupation tasks; timeline remains uncertain Scores are directional estimates and sources do not endorse this site’s exact percentage.

Explore safer adjacent careers

These roles are in Trades & Physical and have lower modeled task exposure. Transferability depends on your skills, location, and qualifications.

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