Takeaways

  • AI is here to stay in agriculture, not to replace us, but to be used as a tool to save time and boost efficiency.
  • Don’t overthink it if you’re just getting started with AI. Dive in and experiment with free apps and training courses online or at local universities. 
  • Generative AI has caught on with farmers much quicker than agentic AI. 

I just got back from the FEMA (Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association) Supply Summit and Showcase, which took place in downtown San Antonio, Texas last week.

It was my first time attending a FEMA gathering, and I thought the event struck the perfect balance with networking, education and fun at the Marriott Rivercenter on the Riverwalk. 

My top takeaway from the week can be summed up with two letters.

AI.

“AI is now table stakes,” said Alex Russomagno, senior manager of AGCO Ventures, during her kickoff presentation. “Every company should be using AI.”  

“This stuff is coming. It’s what everybody is thinking about. Everyone knows it’s there. It’s now a matter of taking that first step, despite the risk,” said Joe Sampson, founder and CEO of Embo Sales, during the Technology Track panel discussion to close out the 3-day event.

Sampson, who moderated the panel, asked attendees in the audience to share how they’re using AI in their business.

“We’re kind of dinosaurs. We haven’t implemented much autonomy or AI yet besides marketing,” said Tim Burenga, vice president of Worksaver. “After being here though, I’m fully convinced we’re going to go home and start on it (implementing AI). That’s my take home from the conference.”

Jeremy Groeteke, global head of IT and digital strategy at Syngenta, detailed the latest AI trends during a general session presentation. There was a statement that really stuck with me.    

“There’s no going back. The individual who leverages technology will outcompete the individual who doesn’t use technology,” Groeteke said.

If you’re someone like me or Tim Burenga who’s just now getting their feet wet with AI, Groeteke recommends the following.

“Just dive in and get started,” he says. “It’s as simple as downloading the apps and using the free versions. Hit up a training course. There are tons of those on LinkedIn or YouTube. Universities also have a ton of programs.”

Many growers and dealers are already using generative AI programs like Gemini and ChatGPT to help with quick fixes and contract negotiations, but Groeteke says they’ve been slower to adopt agentic AI, which refers to autonomous systems that act on behalf of users to achieve specific goals.  

“That part hasn’t hit yet with growers unsurprisingly, it’s really new,” Groeteke says. “The industry is really starting to internalize the agentic workflows, while growers are moving fast with the large language models like Gemini and ChatGPT.

"We’re seeing a rapid advancement. The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed. We’re seeing autonomous machines in the orchard markets. But we still have a long way to go to achieve full autonomy. You can’t have a smart tractor with dumb equipment and vice versa. The whole system must work together.”

Am I off base in thinking the rise of AI was the single biggest takeaway from my first FEMA Supply Summit and Showcase? A hallway conversation with Bill Dickhut, president of Geringhoff, North America, provided some reassurance.

“AI is of course here to stay,” Dickhut says. “It was interesting to hear Jeremy say that AI is not a replacement for our folks, but it’s a tool that augments performance. I view that similarly, just like a CNC lathe did not replace the machinist, but it took a tedious task and made it an automated task.”

I'll steal Joe Sampson's question — How have you started using AI in your business, and if you haven't yet, are you planning to soon?