Kansas State University officials say that a July conference on the use of artificial intelligence in agriculture is an opportunity to involve farmers and ranchers in the development of machinery that is transforming their business.
AI in Kansas Ag will be held July 22 at The Ranch House in Lyndon. There is no cost to attend, but interested persons must register in advance, either online or by calling the Frontier Extension District at 785-828-4438. The program begins at 1 p.m. and will run until approximately 8 p.m.
Ajay Sharda, an agricultural engineer in K-State’s Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, said feedback from those who use modern technology is an important part of developing effective tools.
“We want our producers, our end users, to be part of the journey in terms of development and evolution of these technologies, so that they have trust in these systems,” Sharda said.
Artificial intelligence touches nearly every part of modern agriculture, collecting volumes of data that helps farmers make important decisions related to soil health, cropping, grazing, spraying weeds and more. Some of the tools of the trade include drones (in the air and on the ground), satellite systems, data analytics, and virtual fencing, among others.
“It’s really hard for farmers to find skilled labor,” said Rod Schaub, the livestock production agent for the Frontier Extension District, which is co-sponsoring the conference. “So, maybe some of these newer technologies and artificial intelligence tools can help out, or make those jobs easier. As farmers, we’ll have more information and more data. We’ll make better decisions and be able to make those decisions in a more timely way.”
The conference agenda includes:
- A Historical Account of Ag Technology in the Last 10 years to Modern Robotics.
- AI and Its Trust-ability.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis of Precision Ag Tools.
- Revolutionizing Livestock Farming with Virtual Fencing.
- Spray Drone in Pasture Management.
An evening meal will be provided. Organizers have allotted time for participants to develop networks around AI issues.
“At the end of the day, what we hope to say is that we’ve given people a chance to look at the data around artificial intelligence and what has been done using these AI approaches so that they can make their operation more efficient, productive and profitable,” Sharda said.
The conference is also sponsored by the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics (ID3A) program at Kansas State University. More information is available online from the Frontier Extension District.
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