Some new ag innovations may soon change how farming is conducted. The whole Artificial Intelligence (AI) movement and machine learning is starting to be incorporated into agriculture. Farming is labor-intensive, but it also generates huge amounts of data that can be harvested from each parcel of crops to inform immediate decisions. Sensors, drones, and satellites provide trillions of bits of data to farmers and/or consultants. This database can now be analyzed with computers, software, and AI systems to easily and efficiently give farmers instant information to improve crop quality and yield. Here are some examples of how this affects agriculture, now and in the future.
Predictive analysis, weather, disease, and pest control, as well as improving crop yields, are important agricultural functions. Currently, a new data chip has been developed that can analyze in a few hours what the previous fastest computer chip could analyze running continuously for 100 years. With trillions of data points per acre, agriculture, along with medical advancements (cures for cancer, diseases, and new medical drugs), genetics, and other related fields, would benefit from this type of analysis. For example, the weather forecast is at best 50-50, sometimes better, sometimes worse. With more data and AI (machine learning), weather forecasts and variability will greatly improve. Weather predictions will improve on each acre of land, and this will greatly help farmers.
With improved weather predictions, disease and pest outbreaks will be more easily predicted. Early signs of disease and pests will enable farmers to take timely preventative measures, preventing damage and improving crop quality and yield. Crop yield can also be monitored and predicted, allowing farmers to apply nutrients in a spoon-fed manner to optimize production.
In precision farming, water, fertilizer, and pesticides (including herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides) can be precisely applied. With good soil health and fertility management, less pests and diseases should greatly lower the need for pesticides. Healthy crops have fewer insects, and diseases and weeds thrive when crop canopy is poor. Mother Nature does not like a vacuum, so bare soil tends to get covered with some vegetation, usually weeds, if a crop is not growing.
New AI technology will also enhance efficiency and sustainability. By spoon-feeding crops, farmers will lose less fertilizer in runoff, soil, or wind erosion. Water, fertilizer, and any pesticides will be precisely applied as needed, reducing waste. This increases productivity, especially crop yield, as well as the quality of the food eaten. Food will be much more nutrient-dense in the future, which is good for livestock and human health. The environment (water quality, air quality, wildlife) should also benefit. An added benefit is that the cost of production should decrease as waste decreases.
Some specific examples of advances coming to agriculture soon include automated weed control. Sensors are already being used to distinguish between crops and weeds. Small robots and drones can precisely spray targeted individual weeds, using only the pesticide that is needed. This reduces spray volume, cost, and over-applying herbicides to terminate the weed.
AI is also being applied to livestock management to monitor animal health, identify signs of illness, and enhance feed efficiency to promote muscle growth. AI can help farmers track and manage individual animals without the need for physical monitoring. With labor shortages, robotics will be programmed to operate 24 hours a day, helping farmers with numerous mundane and repetitive farm tasks.
Other areas where AI is having a big influence is in research and development. AI is already being used to develop crops that can adapt to a changing climate. AI is also being used with the new software to analyze solutions to problems almost instantly. It takes tremendous computing power and energy to analyze trillions of bits of data per acre, but faster analysis makes prediction for future events easier. Farmers and homeowners can react more quickly to those predictions, which will be much better than our current weather forecasts!
EDITOR’S TAKE:
Just as the horse was replaced by the tractor, now robots and AI are rapidly changing the face of agriculture. As in the past, some farmers (Amish) will continue to use horses, and many will still utilize tractors; however, robots and AI technologies will soon have a significantly larger impact on modern agriculture. The combination of biotechnology and AI are destined to revolutionize our ability to produce more with less, better nutritional value and all in a more environmentally sustainable manner. It is just a matter of time!
We all know how precious time is, it’s the one thing you cannot buy or exchange. The point being that time is particularly important to that farmer or rancher who often has a limited window to get a crop in the ground or that calf out of that spring snow storm. Whatever your dealership can do to save that farmer/rancher time and make them more efficient will be a huge selling point. Maybe it is something simple like using CADFI financing so the payment structure fits with their cash flow. Or perhaps it might mean delivering that new truck or SUV to them personally. Help them and they will remember!