As Artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace in our society, Americans are scrambling to find answers to better understand the innovative technology. Similar to the advent of the internet, splintering opinions and perspectives are driving the narrative around AI. Discussions on AI are dominating halls of government — and dinner tables — across the state and country.
The uncertainty is not entirely misguided. However, we must approach the technology with a full understanding of the breadth of its potential. We are on the edge of a global technological revolution that will redefine what humans can independently accomplish across many industries and professions.
AI has already demonstrated promising potential to support America’s agricultural industry, for example, simplifying tasks and ultimately helping farmers operate more efficiently, better providing for themselves and the nation.
As was reported in this publication last month, Nevada’s farmers are retiring and there is a shortage of young farmers ready to help take over. AI can help with such labor shortage issues.
While it is easy to view AI as a new technology, in reality, it has been around for decades. Now, we finally have the progress to show for it. The 2023 CES show in Las Vegas spotlighted AI-enabled technologies in the agricultural space, including drones that can scan vegetation to detect threats in the field. Soil monitoring, which was a complicated and costly multistep process in the past, can now be conveniently tracked with a smartphone and a few small tools. Furthermore, machine learning cameras are now able to monitor our crops to determine which plots require more water than others, cutting down our water consumption and costs. Ultimately, there are a slew of innovations that will make a farmer’s workday a bit easier, enabling the industry to grow utilizing data-informed decisions.
There is a common conversation around AI that speculates long-standing jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence. Not only is this purely speculation, but this perspective must also consider the many industries facing worker shortages. Farmers across America have felt the hiring crunch intensify in recent years. To supplement the worker shortage, we have seen machines developed that can harvest crops and manage farmland utilizing AI, allowing farmers to harvest their crops with minimal support and regardless of workforce capacity.
Additionally, America’s supply chain has continuously amended its operations to get products to American families over the years. The trucking industry has yet to recover from the worker shortages magnified during 2020, and the autonomous driving technology supported by AI could help farmers get their products on the roads and into grocery stores. The truck driver shortage has become a costly variable within farmers’ operations and, unfortunately, that cost is often ultimately felt by consumers as they purchase groceries and common goods produced by America’s farming industry.
With the many positive impacts for America’s farmers just over the horizon, I hope lawmakers are mindful of how new, knee-jerk regulations could stifle innovation and impede the further development of these technologies. Let’s ensure we are learning, together, about the possibilities and risks of this technology before jumping on regulatory opportunities.
I am glad to see technological innovation shift its focus to America’s farmlands, creating new employment opportunities in agricultural technology in new and old Agtech companies. If we get this right, we can save farmers a little money and time in their workday and pass those savings on to the consumer at check out.
Doug Busselman is the executive vice president of the Nevada Farm Bureau.
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