b'knowledge diversity, Byrum says. revolution, and while we arent maxedThere are a lot of dollars enter-The majority of AI being utilized inout, weve used up a lot of the potentialing the pipeline in the ag tech and agriculture today falls into the sensingthat came along from that. But we haventsustainability space. As of December bucket with automated settings duringbeen as diligent about using the capabili- 2022, USDA has committed to invest harvest on a combine to aerial imag- ties of precision ag technology in terms$3.1 billion for 141 selected projects ing over fields aimed at improving plantof understanding varieties and timing andunder Partnerships for Climate-Smart establishment. efficiency from a planting standpoint. ICommodities. Cubbage believes there Farmers can use that data to seethink weve only scratched the surfaceis a lack of focus on understanding the where they need to go back and replant,there, Cubbage says.technology at the grower level is not or where targeted interventions areThe yield potential is there but wewhere it needs to be to make some needed, whether thats replanting aftercertainly havent reached maximum effi- progress that can catch up to the tech-weather conditions have impacted aciency, Cubbage says. nology that is out there. portion of a field or an early warning for necessary weed control applications or spraying for disease, Byrum says.Maximizing PotentialWhen it comes to robotics, Byrum has seen the most useful agbots developed for the horticultural side, but he believes what happens on the row crop side is yet to be determined.In row crops, we are seeing things like targeted weed control, but the jury is still out on the economics of that at scale because there are a lot of compet-ing things and new chemistries that are equally effective and safe, he says.More seed companies have started to use AI spectral imaging and sensor capa-bilities to greatly improve their product reliability, Steve Cubbage, president of Longitude 94, a data and sustainability consulting firm, believes these sensors will become integral to a successful seed business in the future.These sensors can make sure the vari-ety is as pure as possible and high in vigorSome technology sensors are even progressing into smart sprayers, which would be able to with the germination tests, Cubbageidentify weeds in the fields and spray a precise amount according to the sensed weed. says.Cubbage sees AI technology becom-ing a more important tool. Data Dilemma We have a gap that exists with the In specialty markets or with any typeByrum believes a major difficulty lies inlegacy tech at the grower level. In order of varieties that may be more sustainablethe language barrier between the differ- for AI to work, youve got to have good than others, we have to keep that purityent disciplines and various companiesdata and you have to have lots of it. And as high as we can to maximize some ofas well as the corresponding scientificwere just not there yet in many cases. A these markets and I think AI is going tocommunities.lot of growers may have a yield monitor, be important to do that. Without it, I dontThe challenge in agriculture is that itbut they may not have spray records or think its possible, Cubbage says. has the structure of an oligopoly with aa lot of that other supporting data we But its putting all of these systemsfew major players that have little incen- need, Cubbage says. together that will take production to thetive to collaborate. The collective potentialAnd he believes it could be an uphill next level. and knowledge in agriculture will not bebattle to get it. Hes seen older farmers Obviously, there were so many gainsliberated until this is addressed, Byrumdo a much better job of keeping diligent in productivity made through the biotechsays.paper records in their file cabinets than JUNE 2023 SEEDWORLD.COM /25'