Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days, especially in the ag industry. But how are farmers using AI and what’s their comfort level with it as a reliable management tool? We asked people about it in our grower publication's Email Discussion Group recently. Here are some of the top responses.
Chad Peterson: My initial thought is using it for seed selection with corn and soybeans. AI could gather a lot more information and weather data with forecasts to assist.
Lulian Stefan: I’m not a farmer, but I’m directly involved in farming as a part-time consultant in precision agriculture. First and foremost, farmers should not expect outstanding results from using AI alone, mainly for two reasons.
AI is still under development and lacks key capabilities to be a reliable, standalone advisor for farmers.
Most farms don’t collect enough data. Only a small number of farmers — typically those managing very large commercial operations — have both the resources and motivation to collect detailed data across the entire farm (soil properties, machinery usage, seed/crop protection product details, fertilizer applications, yield data, weather conditions). Without this farm-specific data, AI systems rely on partial and, more importantly, generalized data — not data from your region and certainly not from your individual farm.
As a result, many people expect AI to act like a brilliant human advisor, when in reality, it’s a highly advanced piece of software designed to analyze and interpret large volumes of information. Its usefulness depends on the quality of the data it receives.
John Beatty, Butler, Pa.: Due to the lack of genuine intelligence, artificial intelligence is flourishing. Thankfully, in the farming community, real intelligence is still strong, likely due to the nature and requirements of farming.
AI can be a useful tool, but the issue that I have seen is determining the wolf from the sheep. If used in a factual, concise way, it can be very helpful. If manipulated to achieve a goal, it’s detrimental. I believe real discerning human intelligence combined with AI will make a very workable combination in the farming community.
Lawrence Stoskopf, Salina, Kan.: I'm an 86-year-old retired anesthesiologist with a 15-acre farm I call the Flat Farm that I work hard at getting up to the Hefty Brothers' soil standards. After 12 years, I'm almost there! Relatives farm the other 900 acres of crop land nearby.
I subscribe to the European satellite service, OneSoil, for their maps and deep analysis for that data. I use ChatGPT to gather information on all aspects of what to do and how to do it. Most of the time, it brings out information I hadn't thought about, and sometimes about as reliable as the coffee talk data I get. But it is very useful, usually. The main reason for tech is the wide variety of thoughts available.
Jon Stevens, Rock Creek, Minn.: It’s great for finding research papers or any information to help fix something.
We were treating a sick cow and weren’t sure of the products we had on hand. We ran it by AI, and it told us what we could mix and match and a treatment plan. We then ran that by a vet, and they agreed with it. Pretty cool.
Ludovic Ngu: As an agricultural engineer from Cameroon working at the National Center of Studies and Experimentation in Agricultural Mechanization, I actually see a great potential for AI in our daily work supporting farmers.
Currently, I do not directly use AI tools in my day-to-day farm management. But we are increasingly exploring how AI can assist in various aspects such as predictive modeling for crop yields, soil health monitoring, and optimizing machinery operation schedules. Even though there is the existence of agricultural calendars, many farmers here still rely on traditional knowledge and practices, but I believe integrating AI can significantly improve decision-making and productivity in our context.
My main concerns about AI in agriculture are its affordability, ease of use, and relevance most especially to smallholder farmers. I am curious about how accessible AI solutions are for farmers with limited technical resources and whether these technologies can be tailored to local environmental and socio-economic conditions.
On the other hand, I’m quite comfortable with the idea of seeing AI as a management tool. I recognize its potential, but I believe that for it to be accessible to farmers, it must be user-friendly and cost-effective, accompanied by appropriate training.
If I could have one problem AI solve for us, it would be helping farmers better predict weather patterns and soil conditions to optimize planting and harvesting times. A model was designed using java script, but AI will permit to enhance the climate anticipation better. I believe this could reduce risks linked to climate variability and improve food security for communities here. I’m looking forward to further discussions on how AI can be adapted and scaled to benefit farmers in Cameroon
