OPINION – Thomas Hall, Agtech and Logistics Hub Director

Did you look up today’s weather forecast on a phone app? Do you use Google Maps? Are you watching a TV series that is a Netflix recommendation?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’ve benefited from the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). While AI may sound like a futuristic concept for some that conjures up images of walking and talking robots, the simple fact is nearly everyone’s already using AI in their daily life.

So, what exactly is AI and why should Australian farmers care?

AI are machines or computer systems programmed to perform tasks and make decisions that usually require human intelligence.

It’s something that Aussie farmers should be embracing, particularly as their operations become increasingly digitalised. Although it’s relatively early days, we are already seeing how AI stands to revolutionise the agricultural industry.

AI can process and analyse large volumes of data, which can be used to help farmers make more informed decisions. For instance, AI can predict the best time for seed planting to achieve optimal yields.

Ultimately, AI can help farmers increase profitability, improve efficiencies, minimise risks and overcome challenges such as labour shortages.

In recent decades, the agricultural sector has seen a rapid uptake of digital technologies in the sector – AI is the next step.

Many farmers are already using technologies such as drones and sensors, which collect vital information on things like soil condition, temperature and water usage.

It’s this type of data that AI can analyse and convert into information to assist with farm management.

Data analysed by AI can also be used to direct robotic machines to do on-farm work, such as spraying and harvesting. This is exciting given the acute labour shortages being experienced in the agriculture sector.

Farmers are even beginning to use AI-powered technology, such as self-driving tractors and robots to spray weeds.

It is indeed early days, but we are already seeing the great potential for AI to transform our farms.

The data being collected by farming machinery is continually becoming more extensive, which means farmers have access to more data sets that can be fed into AI to make decisions and help reach goals such as increasing yields, improving soil and using less water. There are substantial savings to be made, with AI capable of predicting the best time plant and harvest, reducing the risk of crop yield failures and powering robots to pick produce.

Many agrifood operations are already using digital twin technology, which is a computer program that uses data to create a virtual representation of a physical object, system or product to predict how they will perform in real life. Agribusinesses are digitally recreating food manufacturing environments, for instance, to examine how they can increase efficiency and profitability.

And last year, Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga announced it was creating Australia’s first fully automated farm using AI and robots.

Since its inception more than two years ago, the Agtech and Logistics team has seen first-hand how AI has improved automation opportunities in agriculture and we’ve been working with innovators striving to harness the power of AI to deliver new technologies for the sector.

There are obvious challenges, including lengthy adoption and training farmers, not to mention the risk of hackers targeting farms using AI.

But the opportunities that AI can bring, from smart spraying of chemicals to AI robots for picking, are huge and will, ultimately, help farmers be outstanding in their field rather than standing out in their field.

 

This piece was originally published in the December edition of Queensland Farmer Today