Will AI replace livestock workers?
Updated
Livestock workers score 18 of 100 for AI exposure. 93% of their task time still needs a person. AI can do the other 7% today.
- 7% AI can do it
- 93% Needs a person
Low exposure
Lower than 84% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 19 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 2 of them today, speeds up 0 and leaves 17 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain growth, feeding, production, and cost records. Routine growth, feed, and cost record keeping suits AI well. | 82% AI can do it |
| Order food for animals, and arrange for its delivery. Routine purchasing that software and AI can largely handle. | 65% AI can do it |
| Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain. Physical examination of live animals; AI aids only record review. | 18% Needs a person |
| Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions. Recipe math is AI-assisted, but physical mixing stays manual. | 15% Needs a person |
| Perform duties related to livestock reproduction, such as breeding animals within appropriate timeframes, performing artificial inseminations, and helping with animal births. Hands-on insemination and birth assistance dominate this task. | 14% Needs a person |
| Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences. Physical repair of pens, fences, and machinery; AI guides only. | 12% Needs a person |
| Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies. Physical feeding and watering; only supply monitoring is digital. | 10% Needs a person |
| Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment. Administering drugs and vaccines is physical; vet arrangements are clerical. | 10% Needs a person |
| Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals. Driving farm vehicles is physical; little AI help applies. | 8% Needs a person |
| Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition. Sorting live animals by size and condition needs physical handling. | 8% Needs a person |
Show the other 9 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps. Scrubbing and disinfecting pens is physical labor. | 6% Needs a person |
| Patrol grazing lands on horseback or using all-terrain vehicles. Patrolling pastures on horseback or ATV is physical field work. | 6% Needs a person |
| Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures. Physical herding of live animals; needs people and handling. | 5% Needs a person |
| Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos. Physical marking of animals with brands, tags, or paint. | 5% Needs a person |
| Move equipment, poultry, or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts. Manually moving animals and equipment is physical work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food. Moving animals between pastures is physical herding work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Spray livestock with disinfectants and insecticides, or dip or bathe animals. Dipping and spraying live animals is physical, hands-on work. | 4% Needs a person |
| Groom, clip, trim, or castrate animals, dock ears and tails, or shear coats to collect hair. Clipping, castrating, and docking are hands-on animal procedures. | 3% Needs a person |
| Protect herds from predators, using trained dogs. Managing trained dogs against predators is physical, live work. | 2% Needs a person |
How livestock workers compare
All occupations (923)
Farming, fishing and forestry (12)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $36,670 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 32,810 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- -3.2% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Examine live animals for illness, injury, or weight gain manually
- Maintain feeding and growth records in Microsoft Excel
- Run herd records in DairyCOMP 305 or Farm Works Trac
- Perform artificial insemination and assist with births
- Mix medicines and feed additives to prescribed portions
- Repair pens, fences, and machinery on the farm
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about livestock workers and AI
Will livestock workers be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 1 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining growth, feeding, production, and cost records and ordering animal feed. The hands-on work stays with people, including examining animals, handling herds, and assisting births.
Will AI take over farming?
AI can already do 7% of the task time in farming. People still do 93% of it. The US has 32,810 livestock worker jobs, with a projected change of -3.2% from 2024 to 2034.
Which livestock worker tasks is AI taking over?
Record keeping has the highest exposure, at 82 out of 100, because growth, feed, and cost logs are routine data entry that software can handle. Ordering feed and arranging delivery follows at 65, since purchasing follows set patterns that AI can largely run.
Which livestock worker tasks stay human?
Protecting herds with trained dogs scores 2 out of 100 on exposure, and clipping, castrating, and docking score 3. These tasks need hands on live animals, so AI supports only the paperwork around them. Examining animals scores 18 and still needs a person to touch and observe the animal.
How do livestock workers stay valuable as AI takes over records?
Keep the hands-on skills that software scores lowest on, such as insemination at 14 and animal examination at 18 out of 100. Learn the herd software your farm uses, including DairyCOMP 305 or Farm Works Trac, so you can check the records AI produces against what you see in the pens.
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