On November 14, the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee held a hearing entitled “Innovation in American Agriculture: Leveraging Technology and Artificial Intelligence.” The witnesses in the hearing were:
- Dr. Mason Earles, Assistant Professor, Viticulture & Enology; Biological & Agricultural Engineering
- Mr. Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer & Senior Managing Director, S2G Ventures
- Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President, Dakota State University
- Dr. Jahmy Hindman, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Deere & Company
- Mr. Todd J. Janzen, President, Janzen Schroeder Agricultural Law LLC
Below are some key takeaways from the hearing followed by high-level takeaways on some of the main issues covered in the hearing prepared by Delta Strategy Group.
Key Takeaways
The following is a summary of the key points in today’s hearing.
- Today’s hearing discussed the rapidly growing trend in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the beneficial role AI can play in agriculture. Republican and Democrat members both agreed that AI creates actionable insights in the agricultural field and has the potential to revolutionize the food supply chain and bring revenue to agricultural districts.
- Members acknowledged the need to address key risks presented by AI, like data privacy and security, and job market risks. Members also said it is important to ensure that farmers reap the main benefits of sharing their data to avoid it being used against them by larger market participants.
High-Level Takeaways
Below are some high-level takeaways on some of the key issues covered in the hearing.
Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- We must strike a balance between the benefits AI can produce while also addressing the concerns it raises, such as data privacy, workforce implications, and equitable access to technological advances. Farmers should be the ones benefitting from their data, not big corporations. This technology cannot work on farms if we do not continue the reach of broadband and high-speed internet to rural communities. This technology can bring new and high paying jobs to rural communities. AI should have a chance to thrive across American farms.
Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR)
- From targeted fertilizer and pesticide applications guided by dozens of cameras to irrigation systems that can sense sources of leaks, AI powered technology has the potential to dramatically increase efficiency and minimize waste, resulting in improved yields and profitability. AI can play a fundamental role in our food supply chain, but we need to be thinking about potential risks of AI as well. New regulations will be essential to ensure consumer protection and sustained safety, especially when it comes to the use of applications that handle sensitive data. We need to ensure farmers are not disadvantaged by the growing use of AI.
Dr. Mason Earles, Assistant Professor, Viticulture & Enology; Biological & Agricultural Engineering
- We need to keep American as a global leader in innovation and I urge the committee to expand funding for AI institutes among other programs through USDA that provide AI solutions for food and ag.
Mr. Sanjeev Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer & Senior Managing Director, S2G Ventures
- Today, farmers are drowning in data and not in solutions. We now have aggregated data points from sensors, machinery, and many other sources that drive more efficient and precise solutions. These solutions will be able to automatically adapt and moderate the impacts of extreme weather. AI can help enhance the foundation of U.S. agriculture, trust, and community as it can analyze patterns across massive amounts of historical research and on farm data. Public policy plays a critical role in developing and scaling critical AI solutions.
Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, President, Dakota State University
- The Senate Ag Committee should support the increased adoption of AI and its transformative potential in the U.S. agriculture sector. It is important to encourage stronger cyber security protections to safeguard the critical infrastructure of the U.S. agriculture industry. We need more research focused on AI to help increase the sustainability of the agricultural industry. The committee should have a heightened concern for cyber and national security that involves the acquisition of land by unfriendly nations.
Dr. Jahmy Hindman, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Deere & Company
- AI allows farmers to accomplish higher productivity with fewer resources, while improving their environmental and economic sustainability. We believe data derived from AI has the potential to propel the industry forward, but that data should benefit the farmer the most.
- Farmers would benefit greatly from incentives to help them acquire the precision technology needed to do their jobs more efficiently and sustainably. As you deliberate the upcoming Farm Bill, I urge you to consider such proposals as the PRECISE Act and the Precision AG Loan Act that would expand eligibility for USDA conservation and loan programs to include the adoption of precision technology.
Mr. Todd J. Janzen, President, Janzen Schroeder Agricultural Law LLC
- Any policy should focus on leveling the playing field and not on stifling innovation. There is a lack of trust in AI platforms on the farm side. Transparency is key in this sector to gain farmers’ trust. Any platform that uses ag data should try to return an equal or greater value of data to that farmer in the resulting product.