I wear two very different hats when it comes to watching the development of agriculture AI (that’s AI for Artificial Intelligence – not Artificial Insemination or Active Ingredient).
As a farmer, the concept of giving up some of the decision-making on my farm to a computer algorithm doesn’t sit well with me, but as someone who also runs an agtech company, I can tell you AI is an inevitable part of the future of farming, and those who ignore it risk being left behind.
Some of us can remember when the internet was new and we couldn’t conceive how it might change the way we do things. AI is on a similar trajectory.
Every farmer and agronomist takes numerous factors into account for every decision they make – the exact same type of information that will enrich AI’s future potential:
Where AI comes into its own is its ability to analyse huge amounts of data, taking all known variables into account, to identify issues, predict outcomes and develop action plans or decisions – this is ‘Decision AI’.
For this to be universally relevant across Australian agriculture will require widespread agtech adoption to deliver all the necessary data to better inform and ‘train’ AI to make the right decisions.
In the future, farmers and agronomists will use AI generated models to plan, check, measure and enact better farming practices. AI will calculate specific scenarios for your operation, but only if you can teach it everything you can about your situation – and that means having good data.
Without data that’s specific to your operation, you will be treated as an ‘average’. It’s like reading district rainfall data from the BOM, instead of from your own rain gauges. It’s like looking up a text book to work out when to plant, fertilise and harvest a particular crop without knowing your local climate or the soil chemistry for your paddock.
The more exact and localised the data, the more accurate and relevant AI’s calculations will be. Thankfully today there are plenty of agtech tools to record many of these data sets automatically.
The current value proposition for farmers using agtech is those tools save time and money, monitor hyperlocal conditions and activities, make reporting easier, automate some tasks and deliver peace of mind. As AI develops, those in a position to collect the best data to feed back into the system will have the upper hand and stand to gain the most out of it.
My advice is to think of your farm data as an asset that’s of value now and in the future. Source the best mix of agtech tools that best suit your operation – only buy what you’ll use now, then add more later. Most importantly, make sure it allows you to control, use and share the data collected in different ways.
The future of agtech and AI won’t be a one size fits all solution. It will be infinitely customisable to your particular operational needs, so selecting the best technology mix that suits your budget is key.
Pairtree can help you safely share specific bundles of data with the agronomists, advisers, financial institutions, supply chain and compliance bodies that will add value to your bottom line now.
We ‘normalise’ the data and securely store it in such a way that it can be used for reporting, making data-backed decisions and even informing AI about your specific operation if you choose. This same data might be used down the track for calculations that haven’t even been invented yet!
Disclaimer: No data was hurt in the creation of this article. Pairtree does not mine, sell or run any AI on our clients’ data. Pairtree is the #0001 badge holder and first company to be Farm Data Code certified by the National Farmers Federation, and our mission is to make sure farmers can maximise their future opportunities through #collaborativeagriculture.
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