Farming, Fishing, and Forestry · Holland code RCI
Agricultural Inspectors
Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.
Also called: Agricultural Commodities Grader (ACG), Apiary Inspector, Brand Inspector, Grain Inspector, Agricultural Products Agent, CSI (Consumer Safety Inspector), Food Inspector, Food Safety Inspector.
O*NET 45-2011.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $49,940
- Middle half earn $42,330 to $64,500. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 56% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Inspect food products and processing procedures to determine whether products are safe to eat.
- Monitor the operations and sanitary conditions of slaughtering or meat processing plants.
- Label and seal graded products and issue official grading certificates.
- Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
- Take emergency actions, such as closing production facilities, if product safety is compromised.
- Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
- Inspect the cleanliness and practices of establishment employees.
- Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
- Active Listening3.8 / 5
- Monitoring3.8 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
- Speaking3.5 / 5
- Active Learning3.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service3.5 / 5
- Administration and Management3.4 / 5
- Law and Government3.3 / 5
- Administrative3.3 / 5
- Mathematics3.2 / 5
- Public Safety and Security3.2 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic73
- Investigative51
- Artistic0
- Social15
- Enterprising35
- Conventional70
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- agricultural scientist · DE Agrarwissenschaftler/Agrarwissenschaftlerin · FR scientifique agricole
- agronomist · DE Agronom/Agronomin · FR agronome
- livestock advisor · DE Berater im Bereich Viehzucht/Beraterin im Bereich Viehzucht · FR conseiller d'élevage/conseillère d'élevage
- agricultural engineer · DE Ingenieur Agrarwirtschaft/Ingenieurin Agrarwirtschaft · FR ingénieur agronome/ingénieure agronome
- food regulatory advisor · DE Berater für Lebensmittelbestimmungen/Beraterin für Lebensmittelbestimmungen · FR conseiller en conformité réglementaire en agroalimentaire/conseillère en conformité réglementaire en agroalimentaire
- food safety inspector · DE Lebensmittelsicherheitsinspektor/Lebensmittelsicherheitsinspektorin · FR inspecteur en sécurité des aliments/inspectrice en sécurité des aliments
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Mechanical engineers (professional) (2122)94,400 employed
- Inspectors of standards and regulations (3581)44,300 employed
- Aerospace engineers (2126)41,700 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.17. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (45-2011).
Related careers
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