From forecasting pasture growth to identifying and autonomously spraying weeds, even monitoring the health of livestock, the integration of Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we farm.
But trusting AI’s ability to come up with the right decision can be a barrier (those 80’s sci-fi movies have a lot to answer for).
Originally sceptical about the need for Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech to help inform disease management in his vineyard in Orange in the Central West of NSW, Charles Simons is now a convert.
So much so that he’s now the chief sales officer for BioScout, an autonomous disease detection system, the very tech he put to work amongst the vines as a consultant four years ago.
Fungal diseases like Botrytis, Powdery Mildew and Downey Mildew reduce the yield and quality of grapes, impacting the quality of the end-product – the crowd favourite, wine. Spraying is used to prevent infection and to control disease.
BioScout is an automated disease detection system. It uses sensors which collect samples from the air, the microscopic particles are then photographed, before AI compares them to a database of pathogen images.
Throw in real time environmental data, weather forecasts plus some more AI, and growers can track the risk of fungal diseases in crops, allowing for more timely spray applications.
“My first reaction, like many other farmers that use AI, was I don’t need this,” Charles said.
But he explains the system has helped in both ‘cost saving’ and ‘crop saving’ in the vineyard.
“In a particularly bad year for fungal disease I probably saved about four spray rounds. It might not have been the most expensive chemical, but the cost involved in machinery, labour and diesel in spraying every single row in the vineyard adds up,” he said.
“Last year I managed to save my grapes by spraying more often because the system was telling me it was needed.”
While other growers lost crops, Charles was able to harvest, make wine and ensure continuity of supply.
.png)
In terms of the ‘trust’ issue Charles recommends on-farm trials – or in the case of BioScout, testing it in part of the vineyard.
“If you're sceptical, sacrifice two rows and don't spray, see in two weeks if there's disease in that row, and if there's not disease, then ask yourself why did I spray the rest?” he said.
When it comes to other vineyard ‘challenges’ that AI might solve, Charles has estimating harvest at the top of his wish list.
“One thing that I've always struggled with in America, Germany, Austria, Australia, New Zealand and my home country, South Africa, is the ability to do crop estimates,” he said,
“It is so difficult because it relies on us as humans to go and physically count bunches and then do an average of a vineyard.
“Whoever comes up with that will one day be a multi-billionaire because doesn't matter where in the world you grow grapes, that is the number one issue.”
The power of AI and machine learning is being used in a number of Food Agility projects designed to give growers and supply chains greater insight into production.
Along with providing yield and harvest information in crops like green beans, kiwi fruit and berries, it’s also been able to help avocado exporter Costa ensure that its product reaches export markets in top condition.
AI is also a vital tool in the Foragecaster project to forecast livestock and pasture growth, and is being combined with automated visual surveillance systems to improve animal health and welfare in feedlots.
Read more about our work in robotics and AI on our website.
Charles Simons will share his experience of implementing AI in the vineyard at the 2024 Digital Agrifood Summit in Wagga Wagga on 29-30 October.
“I realised that AI is not here to take my job away as a viticulturist,” he said. “It was there to give me another bit of ammo that I can use in my in my arsenal to make constructive, environmentally conscious decisions.”
The session ‘Embracing AI’ also features a keynote presentation from Microsoft ANZ's Chief Technology Officer, Sarah Carney, plus a good old-fashioned debate about AI - Should we ‘let it rip’ or ‘maintain control’?
Featuring CEO of tech consulting firm Ryka Global Vi Nguyen, Founder of ag AI company InFarm Jerome Leray, AI and Cyber Futures Institute Executive Director Ganna Pogrebna and Monash Data Futures Institute Professor Rob Sparrow, it’s sure to get you thinking.
Tickets for DAS24 are on sale now and we hope to see you there.
