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Ag leaders say AI will be essential to the future of farming

Artificial intelligence is poised to play a growing role in agriculture, a theme highlighted during a recent panel hosted by America’s Cultivation Corridor.

Melissa Neuendorf, principal AI strategist for John Deere, says artificial intelligence is becoming essential in agriculture as the volume of farm data continues to grow.

“We all kind of know how much data is in farming,” she said. “Farmers typically try to use that data as much as possible, but it’s difficult based upon the time constraints that they are under. My team is driven on how we optimize that opportunity for the farmers.”

Matt Smalley, data science leader for Corteva Agriscience, says the rapid pace of AI development means ag companies must balance innovation with readiness.

“It doesn’t replace human expertise, it amplifies it,” Smalley said. “The real power comes when we pair advanced analytics with a deep understanding of the crops, the environments, and the farming systems. AI helps us move faster, but domain expertise ensures we’re moving in the right direction.”

Joseph Victoria, senior associate director of bioinformatics for Boehringer Ingelheim, says AI could help minimize animal suffering by improving disease detection and prevention.

“We’re building tools that allow us to use the enrollment time criteria – the blood work, etc., that sort of thing – from the animals, and using AI to predict if we can say if this animal is going to advance a disease in the next 9 months,” Victoria said. “We can then enroll that (animal) in a study because then we can tell if our therapeutics are working against that disease or not.”

Panel moderator Mike Naig, the ag secretary for Iowa, emphasized that the future of AI in agriculture depends on cross-sector collaboration to move from research into practical use.