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Ag Economy Barometer: Farmers are seeing AI as a tool for strategic planning

An ag economist says more farmers are using artificial intelligence to support business decisions.

Michael Langemeier with Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture says more than 30 percent of respondents in the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer named strategic planning as the biggest benefit. 

“They typically don’t rate those skills as something they’re really good at,” he says. “There’s a lot of skills that may be improved with AI. Finance and strategy are two that they really thought could be improved upon.”

He tells Brownfield there are also opportunities to use the technology long-term.

“They realize that they need to improve that particular skill to ensure that the farm continues to run smoothly,” he says. “There is a lot of information available on business planning and strategic planning. We can put together some of this information to make a larger tentative plan.” 

Langemeier says he expects AI adoption to increase as producers become more familiar with its applications.

The Barometer is a nationwide measure of the health of the U.S. agricultural economy and surveys 400 agricultural producers on economic sentiment each month.

AUDIO: Michael Langemeier, Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture