55 Years And Counting From The Tractor Seat

By Bill Whitman 

 If you have watched any TV over the past several weeks, you have heard at least a bit of narratives on artificial intelligence. The fear that seems to be driving this appears to be that Artificial Intelligence will begin making life altering decisions without the input or control of a human being. 

Lately our agriculture magazines have been filled with autonomous equipment operating in real fields, doing real work, and I can’t help but recognize that within the next 5-10 years it will not be uncommon to see autonomous equipment working fields. So this is another example of AI taking a role that has been filled to date by human operators. I can’t imagine the cost, at least initially, but long term, it’s inevitable. It’s important to note that these pieces of equipment will be assigned work by human beings. Another driving force of the advancement of AI in agriculture is the dwindling number of people willing and able to do the work to farm.

This makes me think back to when I first saw farm equipment being directed by GPS and just a year or two later, actually being controlled by the system operating the tractor, then the combine, then sprayers, planters, etc.. Today, AI already controls so much more and on such a large scale that it’s almost incomprehensible. Even smaller farmers are coming to accept the need for GPS. 

This year, on our farm, we added Ag Leader. We need to verify boundaries, spread fertilizer, spray, spread manure, and even lay out more efficient ways of cutting our hay. We calculated the number of acres it would take to justify the system’s purchase and were surprised with how just the cost of fuel would pay for it in 2 years. Add to that under/over spraying , the same for fertilizer, tillage so at the very least I encourage everyone to do a simple calculation for themselves. Inputs are expensive, not to mention our time.

AI in our individual operations should be introduced based on profitability. A young farmer I know put up a new bin this past year and paid for the monitoring equipment and software to manage the grain being stored. After buying the system he learned he had to purchase a subscription to a software program that cost more than the hardware… annually. Be sure to look at all the costs involved and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Leave no stone unturned and understand everything before you agree to anything. Make sure the investment puts at least equivalent “real” dollars back into the operation. 

So as not to leave livestock producers out of this conversation, robotic dairies have been running for several years. From what I’ve seen, doing very well and economically more feasible for the smaller dairy. I’m sure that overseeing the operation still requires time and skill but it is said to give the smaller dairies a chance at profitability. 

I’m sure we’ll be discussing this further as Artificial Intelligence continues to be expanded. At least at this point… it’s all good.

IndianaAg@bluemarble.net