AI is in the process of transforming most aspects of our lives, whether that is helping us directly write or research something, or helping professionals in health care, air travel or many other fields do a better job meeting our needs.
In agriculture, AI is already crunching large amounts of data (from individual farms or collective data from many farms) to provide a wide range of recommendations that improve crop and livestock production each year. But now, it’s poised to alleviate what’s probably the biggest stressor for farmers — weather. Or more precisely, weather forecasts.
“When you look at the variables that farmers face, there are some that they can control but others they can’t control, and top among those is the weather,” says Bruce Burnett, director of markets and weather information with Glacier FarmMedia. “If farmers have access to accurate longer-term forecasts, it will help with operational decisions, mitigate a lot of risk and reduce a large amount of stress.” Even if it’s not perfect, AI generated forecasts would give farmers a lot more control with their planning throughout the growing season, says Burnett. “If you look at an operation like haying, you need dry weather over two to five days,” he notes. “If you know there is going to be dry weather, great. But even if you know there’s going to be two solid weeks of wet weather, that’s still going to be stressful, but at least you know what you’re facing.”
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