In the 1930s, there were approximately 6.8 million farms in the United States. The average size was approximately 155 hectares. In the following decades, the number of farms declined rapidly to about 1.9 million in 2023. Those farms became larger, with an average area of about 464 hectares.
As agriculture has changed over time, experts believe artificial intelligence (AI) can help farmers and producers make food faster and more efficiently.
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“I think there’s a lot of potential for both increasing productivity on the crop side, but also reducing the amount of resources we use on the productivity side. There’s data that we can actually collect to increase yields and “But then there is also facilitating a reduction in labor availability,” says Mason Earles, assistant professor at UC Davis in the departments of Viticulture & Enology and Biological & Agricultural Engineering and researcher at the AI Institute for Next. Generation Food Systems or AIFS.
In the 1930s, there were approximately 6.8 million farms in the United States. In 2023, the number of companies fell to approximately 1.9 million. (AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems)
The latest data shows that 41% of farmers reported labor shortages in 2018. That is an increase of 27% compared to farmers who reported shortages in 2014. This trend is expected to continue. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a 2% decline in employment through 2033, even though the number of job openings remains the same.
“We’re doing more with less. It’s not that there’s no set way to do it and that traditional work has completely changed, it’s empowering and it increases the productivity of existing employees,” said Ilias Tagkopoulos, professor of computer science at UC Davis and the director of AIFS.
AIFS is funded through a grant from the USDA Institute of Food and Agriculture. It’s part of USDA’s efforts to increase research on the use of artificial intelligence in agriculture.
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“One of the big things that I’m specifically focused on, and that we’re working on at the Institute for Food Systems, is trying to say, how can I make an impact in agriculture and food systems across the board? Whether that has to do with the production of different types of vegetables, fruits, nuts, other types of meat or other types of food,” said Earles “There is a lot of potential, we think, from the research and laboratory side through startups to business innovation. And we’re here to find a way to facilitate and integrate that along the way.”
A USDA survey shows that only 27% of farmers are using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Investments across the sector are expected to grow from over $2 billion this year to over $5 billion by 2028.
A USDA survey shows that only 27% of farmers are using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. (AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems)
“What our vision is: How can we have a healthier society and a more sustainable planet? Our mission is to use AI to achieve that goal, to help achieve that goal,” said Tagkopoulos. “AI does two things. One is to make businesses more productive. And the second is to accelerate innovation. It accelerates innovation by actually focusing on what’s important and what’s already there.”
Researchers are investigating how AI hardware such as sensors or robotics can better collect data in the field.
“One of the strengths of AI is that it can process a huge amount of data in a very short time and deliver very high performance in pattern recognition,” said Earles.
The technology can help farmers decide where to apply fertilizer and when the best harvest opportunities are.
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“There are great examples of the ability to process millions of images in an hour to identify where there may be damage from weeds, the presence of weeds or diseases or pests, and of the ability to use different types of both tools to accurately remove those weeds and pests so that the farmer sees higher yields and the consumer sees better fruits, vegetables and other products coming from those fields,” said Earles.
One USDA project at the University of Arkansas is exploring the use of virtual reality to process poultry. Researchers will investigate whether robots can be used in the field while workers virtually control the devices. Although fewer workers are expected to be needed, the cost of the equipment is high.
Researchers are investigating how AI hardware such as sensors or robotics can better collect data in the field of agriculture. (AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems)
“The question is how to make this technology even more cost-effective and even more practical, which is always a challenge,” said Tagkopoulos.
Controlled environments or indoor farming also have high initial costs. But some research has shown that higher crop yields are possible due to fewer weather-related challenges and the ability to grow year-round.
“We see more data being generated in the future, more tools becoming available, easier and much cheaper in terms of AI tools to be able to make recommendations on when to irrigate, when to farm and where to sell. Much more collaboration among farmers because they now better understand that they need to share their data And it’s not about competition, it’s about everyone winning,” Tagkopoulos said.
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Controlled environments have received a lot of funding in recent years. The USDA recently took the first step with a project at Cornell University to research grapes. The National Grape Improvement Center will help scientists study climate-adaptive grape varieties and management strategies for growers.
“The ability to grow fruits, vegetables and other types of crops where they might not otherwise grow has enormous potential for providing all kinds of food, fresh food and nutritious foods to urban and/or other areas,” Earles said . “AI has the real potential to help us understand how to regulate these types of indoor climates so that it can optimize output.”
