Agricultural operations are embracing innovative methods focused on artificial intelligence to simulate human intelligence processes.

And growers, packers and shippers are joining other business-to-business entities seeking practical starting points for entry into the AI domain.

“AI can improve decision-making by providing better signals and insights,” said Mike Sinoway, CEO of Lucidworks. “As models become more specialized for sectors like agriculture, their value will increase even further.”

Lucidworks is a San Francisco-based software company that specializes in commerce, customer service and workplace applications. The firm recently released the results of its second annual “Generative A1 Benchmark Study.” The global effort surveyed business leaders who are actively pursuing A1 initiatives.

“The initial wave of enthusiasm for generative AI is being met with a more strategic approach,” Sinoway said. “Businesses are recognizing the potential of this technology, but they’re also cautious about the risks and costs. This is reflected in the flattened spending, which suggests a shift toward more thoughtful planning.

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“While our research didn’t specifically target the agricultural sector, we found valuable insights from B2B companies that are relevant to produce grower/packer/shipper sectors,” Sinoway added. “B2B leaders are focusing on establishing AI governance and using AI to decrease general and administrative expenses. These are practical starting points for agribusinesses as well.”

Sinoway urges agribusinesses to proactively adopt AI to stay competitive. AI, especially Large Language Models, can accelerate how agribusinesses create product descriptions and attributes, for example, saving time and resources, he said.

Agribusinesses should start by identifying specific use cases for AI and understanding their data requirements. Sinoway said these measures will ensure a targeted and effective implementation.

“Lucidworks advocates for making well-informed decisions about AI investments, not just rushing into adoption,” he said. “Define your goals, understand data security needs and choose AI solutions that align with your specific requirements. AI can enable agribusinesses to deliver highly personalized experiences to their customers, understanding their needs and preferences in real time.”

The opportunities for agriculture to incorporate AI include boosting transportation and logistics performance to optimize routes, predict demand and improve efficiency in the supply chain, reducing costs and improving delivery times.

Sinoway said AI can automate the inspection of produce, identifying defects and ensuring consistent quality.

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“A1 also can personalize marketing campaigns, predict customer behavior and optimize pricing strategies,” he said.

High-value and specialty crop growers are transitioning to A1-powered tools that can analyze data from sensors, drones and satellites to monitor crop health, predict yields and optimize irrigation and fertilization.

AUTONOMOUS APPROACH   

Ben Alfi, CEO and co-founder of Bluewhite, says he has propelled his 6-year-old startup company into prime position to capitalize on the automated solutions surge.

Bluewhite’s robot-as-a-service model is enabling data-driven autonomous farming to take hold as a profitable tool for growers.

Bluewhite’s Pathinder product is a bolt-on kit that transforms any tractor into a fully autonomous machine, allowing the tractor and its implements to fully function without the need for a human operator. It is capable of spraying, mowing, tilling, mulching, fertilizing and more. It preserves the ability to operate the tractor manually.

With U.S.-based headquarters in Fresno, Calif., Bluewhite is a global company founded in 2017 by Israeli air force and autonomous technology veterans.

“High-value crop production lends itself well to an autonomous approach because it’s quite repetitive and quite known,” Alfi said. “We understood, costwise, that buying new robots is expensive, and it would be hard to show return on investment. We don’t want to promise future yields. We want to show how you are cutting operational costs.”

Bluewhite combines a hardware kit and a software stack to enable operation of varied vehicles “doing different types of missions.”

With a workforce of 150 people and investment support of nearly $100 million, the company says it currently has field operations in California and Washington state.

Acceptance by equipment operators wasn’t fully anticipated.

“We saw a few things that we didn’t think that we would see, including the positive reaction of workers, saying, ‘hey, I’d like to work with an iPad,’” Alfi said.

“We see men and women, more diversity,” he continued. “[They say,] ‘I find it much more attractive to not be near the tractor that is spraying, near the chemicals. Keep me away from that.’

“The 21st century worker is transforming from pilots and drivers to robot operators,” Alfi added. “They understand what is the need. They are not in charge of the safety of the tractor and the quality of the mission. The tractor is safe. [It has] all the software and algorithms, obstacle detection and the ability to see how to maneuver into place. It’s real exciting in saving money and increasing the quality of life for the workers.”

Alfi said “an autonomous farm is not a farm without workers. It’s a farm where workers create more with their abilities while maintaining high quality and safety.”

Bluewhite thinks that agricultural autonomy is no longer a luxury, but a necessity to preserve global food production.

“If we will always be obliged to determine … where is the cost of the cheapest labor available, then we’re not making food in America anymore,” he said. “You will see yourself without food security, something that is totally crucial.

“The upside is we see growers saying, ‘I’m able to keep on producing in America in a safe way,’” Alfi continued. “Second, [they also see their] kids coming back, and they are willing to be the next generation, because today it’s very hard to convince them to be the next generation taking over.”

The way A1 technology is developed and deployed will maintain a traditional structure.

“The ecosystem, for good reason, is the same ecosystem for more than a century and I think it will stay like that,” Alfi said. “It will be the grower, the dealerships, the OEMs, startups and new innovative companies that will join in.”

While Lucidworks’ survey found generative AI’s explosive growth is cooling as businesses face cost and security hurdles, in agriculture “the ecosystem stays and gives us more opportunity to create more food to more people who need healthy food that won’t be so expensive,” Alfi said.

Autonomous equipment is unlike some agriculture technologies that receive timid acceptance by growers.

“Autonomy is unlike precision ag,” Alfi said. “Precision ag promises, in some ways, future yields. With future yields, it’s hard to prove because there are so many reasons for it. The adoption of precision ag is not easy, and you need to invest in order to get it.”

As for autonomy, Alfi said when a company is bolted into an already existing fleet, it doesn’t need to buy new, expensive robots — and return on investment is seen much faster.

“Autonomous vehicles are not superheroes,” Alfi said. “They need to practice and mature. Every year we’re creating more capabilities and more accomplishments. We started with a certain model doing spraying. Now we have 20 models.

“As long as you’re patient and you know autonomy is here to stay, you say, ‘OK, give me more capabilities,’” he continued. “And with us and the dealers to help out how to adopt, we see a very positive impact on the adoption process that is happening, much better than I thought, actually.”

CUTTING-EDGE SOLUTIONS

More than 1,500 produce companies use Famous Software to help drive their operations’ data management, the Fresno-based company says.

Famous Software was founded as a grower accounting solution in 1975. As the industry has evolved, so has Famous Software.

“We saw a unique need for technology solutions that were and are built with the fresh produce industry in mind,” said Heather Hammack, president of Famous Software. “We have worked hard to stay on the cutting edge of what operators in the fresh produce space need and expanded our offerings to accommodate the needs not only of grower, packer, shippers, but [also of] anyone involved in fresh produce from distributors to wholesalers to labor contractors and more.”

The company says its enterprise resource planning software helps organizations automate and manage core business processes to improve performance.

“What we have found over the years is that because our ERP and other solutions were built with the fresh produce industry in mind, many of our customers gain significant efficiency right after ‘Go Live,’” Hammack said. “One of our huge competitive advantages is that our ERP system is built on powerful Oracle products. Customers can rely on the fact that their data is consistent across all modules given our normalized database.”

The key to offering new technology products is a focused development process, Hammack said.

“We are always monitoring trends in technology and finding ways to incorporate new advances into our offerings,” she said. “Before we push new features live, we want to make sure that anything we introduce into our technology suite is fully vetted and functions exceptionally well. That’s why we’ve been in business for nearly 50 years — we focus our efforts on technology that can bring real value to our customers and will ensure they are efficient and even have a competitive edge.”

Hammack acknowledged that “security is a huge priority for our customers. That’s why we are a Service Organization Control-compliant company and have been since 2020.”

In order to be SOC compliant, the company goes through a significant annual audit, she said.

“We just passed our SOC 1 Type 2 audit recently and make it an organizational priority each year,” Hammack said. “This helps our customers feel confident that we are an organization that is committed to data security and control. It also helps our customers meet their own audit obligations and be in compliance with regulatory requirements.”

Source: www.thepacker.com