Farming, fishing and forestry
Agricultural inspector
Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.
Median pay
$49,940
Growth to 2035
+2%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
2,500
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Agricultural inspector
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Agricultural inspector: 40% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
- 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.
- Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken.
- Collect samples from animals, plants, or products and route them to laboratories for microbiological assessment, ingredient verification, or other testing.
- Examine, weigh, and measure commodities, such as poultry, eggs, meat, or seafood to certify qualities, grades, and weights.
- Provide consultative services in areas such as equipment or product evaluation, plant construction or layout, or food safety systems.
Also called: Agricultural Commodities Grader (ACG) · Agricultural Products Agent · Apiary Inspector · Brand Inspector · CSI (Consumer Safety Inspector) · Food Inspector · Food Safety Inspector · FSIS Inspector (Food Safety and Inspection Service Inspector)
Outlook and AI
Agricultural inspectors held 17,800 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 18,200 by 2035 (+2%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Agricultural inspector vs. Construction and building inspectors
- Agricultural inspector vs. Food science technician
- Agricultural inspector vs. First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers
- Agricultural inspector vs. Transportation inspector
- Agricultural inspector vs. Agricultural technician
- Agricultural inspector vs. Occupational health and safety technicians
- Agricultural inspector vs. Graders and sorters, agricultural products
- Agricultural inspector vs. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
- Agricultural inspector vs. Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping