Farmers in New Zealand are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance productivity and decision-making on their farms, expanding beyond traditional practices like artificial insemination. A report commissioned by DairyNZ highlights the growing interest among farmers in generative AI (GenAI), though challenges related to trust and accuracy persist.
Rachel Durie, a senior consultant at Perrin Ag, authored the report following inquiries from farmers about the potential applications of GenAI in agriculture. “The number of farmers that are using GenAI is still pretty small, but we found farmers using it for decision support, task enhancement, and communication support,” she stated. Durie’s research involved discussions with farmers, representatives from DairyNZ, rural professionals, and AI experts from organizations such as Agritech NZ and the AI Forum.
According to her findings, some farmers are using GenAI daily and developing customized tools to address specific challenges on their farms. Large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, are among the most commonly utilized GenAI tools in the dairy sector. These models generate responses based on extensive text training, but they can produce confident-sounding information that may not always be correct, occasionally leading to “hallucinations” of inaccurate answers.
Innovatively, GenAI is being employed to create farm chatbots and custom breeding tools. One farmer designed a chatbot tailored to his grazing and supplement procedures, which links to trusted resources, including DairyNZ’s animal health and calf-rearing guides and Federated Farmers’ contract guidance. “He built this chatbot and customized it around how he likes to run the farm with information that he trusts,” Durie explained. This enables farm staff to quickly access management-related queries through the chatbot.
Callum Eastwood, a senior scientist at DairyNZ who oversees workplace productivity initiatives, has been monitoring the adoption of AI technologies by farmers. “We’re working with farmers to understand how GenAI can help on-farm, and what the risks, limitations, and ethical issues are that we need to consider,” he remarked. The farmer using the chatbot prioritizes clarity by informing his staff about the tool’s limitations, emphasizing that it should serve as a support mechanism rather than a primary decision-maker.
“His message to his team is that if it doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t, but he is also quite mindful that when he is using it, he’s using it as a support tool – not a decision-maker,” Durie noted. The efficacy of GenAI systems heavily relies on the quality of the data they are trained on. As these tools are utilized more frequently and are fed improved farm-specific information, their accuracy and effectiveness are expected to enhance significantly.
Looking ahead, GenAI may eventually facilitate autonomous decisions in low-risk, repetitive tasks. However, this evolution hinges on enhanced data quality, technological advancements, and a growing trust among farmers. “Moving to the next stage of AI use on farms is a big jump. Trust depends on what that tool is used for,” Durie added.
Currently, most farmers access GenAI directly, utilizing platforms like ChatGPT, though the technology is beginning to appear within other applications, such as DairyNZ’s DAiSY. Other organizations, including Beef + Lamb NZ, FAR, and Xero, are also incorporating AI capabilities. Eastwood anticipates that as technology develops and presents more time-saving opportunities, its adoption among farmers will increase. “A priority in dairy is making sure we have got our digital data in order, at both a farm and sector level, so when farmers are ready to jump into AI, they can access the right information,” he emphasized.
One significant advantage of GenAI tools is the potential for conversational interaction, rather than requiring typed instructions. This feature is particularly beneficial for farmers working outdoors, and the ability of these tools to communicate in multiple languages is also advantageous for staff members whose first language isn’t English. The ongoing development of GenAI in agriculture represents a transformative opportunity, promising to reshape how farmers manage and operate their businesses in the future.
This story first appeared in Inside Dairy, the official publication of DairyNZ.
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