Will AI replace farm and home management educators?

Not on current evidence. Less than 30 minutes of a typical shift goes to tasks that AI or robots are doing today. The other 7h 47m (97%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 3.2% fewer of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 1 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 13m of a typical shift. For 3 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• Provide direct assistance to farmers by performing activities such as purchasing or selling products and supplies, supervising properties, and collecting soil and herbage samples for testing. (13m a shift; e.g. ROGO robotic soil sampler (Kubota UTV platform), in use)

7h 47m of a typical shift, or 97%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Advise farmers and demonstrate techniques in areas such as feeding and health maintenance of livestock, growing and harvesting practices, and financial planning. (1h 10m a shift)
• Conduct classes or deliver lectures on subjects such as nutrition, home management, and farming techniques. (1h 10m a shift)
• Collaborate with producers to diagnose and prevent management and production problems. (38m a shift)
• Research information requested by farmers. (38m a shift)
• Prepare and distribute leaflets, pamphlets, and visual aids for educational and informational purposes. (38m a shift)

Much of it comes down to where and how the work happens. In-person, hands-on and high-stakes work is where AI and robots have made the least headway so far. In the official O*NET survey of people in this job:

• 96% say dealing with the public is very or extremely important
• 73% talk face to face with others every day

On Indeed, job postings in the Education & Instruction sector are at 107% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), down 9.5% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 800 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $60,220 a year ($28.95 an hour), 18% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $37,650 and $85,060 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects a decline of 3.2% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 9,400 jobs in 2035. Even so, it expects about 800 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 8,220 people in the U.S., roughly 0.01% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 690th largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 9,400 in 2035.

The most common requirement is a master's degree: about 70% of people in the job said so in the official O*NET survey. O*NET rates the job at level 5 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: graduate degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Instructing, Systems Evaluation, Active Listening, Learning Strategies
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 7h 47m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Office software, ESRI ArcGIS software, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint

These use similar skills. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teachers (3h 36m touched, $99k median pay)
• Management Analysts (3h 2m touched, $102k median pay)
• Soil and Plant Scientists (1h 21m touched, $79k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 1 with robots in real deployments, 14 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.