Agricultural Technicians
Also called Agricultural Research Technician (Agricultural Research Tech), Agricultural Technician (Agricultural Tech), Agriculture Assistant, or Seed Analyst
Updated · Source: O*NET 31.0
What Agricultural Technicians do
You run the hands-on side of farm science: driving tractors, gathering crop and animal samples, and recording the data researchers need.
Agricultural technicians do the practical work behind farm and food research. You might prepare test plots, small marked-off patches of land used for experiments, by plowing and leveling the ground. You plant and harvest crops, check plants or animals for signs of disease, collect samples, and set up equipment in a lab or out in a field. Scientists design the experiments; you make them actually happen and write down what you see.
The job mixes two moods. Some hours are physical and outdoors in whatever weather shows up, often inside a tractor or truck cab. Other hours are careful and quiet: labeling samples, entering numbers, answering email so nothing gets lost. Accuracy matters as much as muscle, because sloppy records can ruin months of work.
A day in the life
You start early, checking the weather and the day's plan. Morning might mean running a tractor across a marked-off study plot, or walking rows to pull leaf and soil samples, or feeding and checking animals and noting anything that looks off. You bag and label everything carefully, because a mislabeled sample is useless.
Midday you fix a broken sprayer part and clean up the shed so gear is ready tomorrow. Afternoon shifts indoors: setting up lab equipment, entering the morning's numbers, writing short notes for the scientist you work with. You talk with coworkers all day, and sometimes you show a new technician or farm worker how a task is done. Then you check tomorrow's tasks and head out.
This could fit you if you…
- ✓Like working with your hands on plants, animals, tools, and machines
- ✓Are curious about why crops fail or thrive, and want to test it
- ✓Keep neat, accurate records even when you are tired and muddy
- ✓Do not mind heat, cold, rain, and early starts
- ✓Enjoy switching between outdoor work and quiet desk or lab time
You might not like it if you…
- –Want a steady indoor desk job with predictable hours
- –Find repetitive tasks like weeding, sampling, and data entry boring
- –Dislike getting dirty or doing physical work in bad weather
- –Prefer to design the experiments rather than carry them out
How people get in
- 1Take biology, chemistry, and math in high school, and get any hands-on experience you can with farms, gardens, animals, or machinery.
- 2Earn an associate's degree, the usual way in. Programs in agriculture, agronomy and crop science (the study of soil and field crops), plant sciences, animal sciences, or biology all lead here.
- 3Look for a summer job, internship, or student worker spot at a farm, seed company, university research station, or a university extension office (a local office that shares farming research and advice with growers).
- 4Get comfortable with equipment: tractors, sprayers, basic repairs, and lab tools. Many people learn most of this on the job.
- 5Apply to research farms, seed and crop companies, food producers, universities, and government agencies. Titles include agricultural research technician and seed analyst.
- 6Expect moderate-term on-the-job training, where experienced technicians teach you the specific crops, animals, record-keeping, and the exact steps each test has to follow.
Who tends to enjoy it
Hands-on
People who like building, fixing, working with tools, machines, plants, or animals.
Curious
People who like figuring things out, research, science, and solving problems.
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Official task list
Agricultural Technicians work with agricultural scientists in plant, fiber, and animal research, or assist with animal breeding and nutrition. Set up or maintain laboratory equipment and collect samples from crops or animals. Prepare specimens or record data to assist scientists in biology or related life science experiments. Conduct tests and experiments to improve yield and quality of crops or to increase the resistance of plants and animals to disease or insects. (O*NET)
- Prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring.
- Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks.
- Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care.
- Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness.
- Perform crop production duties, such as tilling, hoeing, pruning, weeding, or harvesting crops.
- Collect animal or crop samples.
- Examine animals or crop specimens to determine the presence of diseases or other problems.
- Set up laboratory or field equipment as required for site testing.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
What you'll need to know
- Food Production
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
How much Agricultural Technicians make
The median pay for Agricultural Technicians in the U.S. is $49,630 a year ($23.86 an hour). Most earn between $35,980 and $76,480. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)
Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in Iowa ($64,070) and lowest in Oklahoma ($37,840).
Pay by state and territory
| State | Median pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $62,990 | — |
| Arkansas | $46,750 | 260 |
| California | $60,320 | 2,420 |
| Colorado | $47,020 | 100 |
| Delaware | $52,510 | — |
| Florida | $42,700 | 240 |
| Georgia | $48,960 | 1,020 |
| Hawaii | $47,960 | 150 |
| Idaho | $48,870 | 650 |
| Illinois | $46,410 | 700 |
| Indiana | $46,170 | 410 |
| Iowa | $64,070 | — |
| Kansas | $47,200 | 450 |
| Kentucky | $59,860 | 210 |
| Maine | $47,410 | 50 |
| Maryland | $49,680 | 200 |
| Michigan | $42,780 | 450 |
| Minnesota | $57,310 | 530 |
| Mississippi | $48,800 | 190 |
| Missouri | $54,060 | 420 |
| Nebraska | $47,420 | 580 |
| Nevada | $43,590 | 40 |
| New Hampshire | $42,520 | 30 |
| New Jersey | $54,370 | — |
| New York | $45,830 | 380 |
| North Carolina | $51,470 | 550 |
| North Dakota | $46,960 | 100 |
| Oklahoma | $37,840 | — |
| Oregon | $46,800 | 480 |
| Pennsylvania | $48,800 | 110 |
| South Carolina | $41,290 | 100 |
| South Dakota | $41,420 | 350 |
| Tennessee | $45,130 | 60 |
| Texas | $50,270 | 120 |
| Utah | $46,560 | 40 |
| Virginia | $41,210 | 170 |
| Washington | $48,220 | 470 |
| Wisconsin | $46,470 | 620 |
| Wyoming | $63,120 | 30 |
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Biology 1,712 colleges
- Animal Sciences 141 colleges
- Agriculture 190 colleges
- Agronomy and Crop Science 79 colleges
- Plant Sciences 55 colleges
- Soil Science and Agronomy 37 colleges
- Poultry Science 12 colleges
- Dairy Science 14 colleges
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Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 19-4012.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), SOC 19-4012. Outlook and entry education: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.