American farmers rely on AI to support an uncertain future

Tulea, California – US Agriculture Industry Although it is used to overcome obstacles, 2025 is becoming a particularly challenging year. Labor shortages, water restrictions and pending threats of tariffs lie at the forefront of all farmers’ minds.

“There’s always a challenge with agriculture, but a lot of people are happening at the same time,” said Karen Ross, director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “I think this only happens once in a generation with a lot of driving forces.”

In 2023, the agriculture industry won over half of it $1 trillion in cash receipt – Crops are $267.4 billion and animal products are $24.96 billion. However, 86% of farms are “small farms.” That is, it’s a total of less than $350,000 a year. These are the farms that we feel most pressured.

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“When it comes to profits, production agriculture tends to be marginal business. The typical average return on investment for low to one side numbers on a farm is very typical,” says Roland, head of Raboresearch. Fumasi says Food and Agribusiness. “So, all sorts of downward pressure on the market is putting a lot of pressure on the finances of a small number of farms, anyway, for most years.”

Now, farmers are supporting technology. In the world, the world’s largest agricultural trade show, manufacturers wanted to show off their latest products.

Last week, more than 1,200 agricultural machinery manufacturers descended into California’s Central Valley last week, hoping to find a buyer among more than 100,000 people. Tulair, California has been home to Agexpo since 1968, and this year the buzzwords have been making waves – AI.

ai, or artificial intelligence, It is used in all ways. From driving self-driving cars to performing difficult tasks, to analyzing changes in the environment, AI is working on everything from labor shortages to increasing crop yields, with farmers on board.

“We’re part of the first wave of AI and we can see what’s going on in the field,” said Paul Mikesell, founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics. “The farmers are incredibly curious. They are so innovative and original that they quickly got what we were doing.”

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Mikesell’s company has generated a lot of buzz around its products. Laser Weeders use AI to identify weeds and use lasers to kill them with STEM. It not only cuts out the physical sacrifices associated with weeding, but also eliminates the need for herbicides.

“We can kill weeds that humans can’t even see, and we go in and kill them before we steal nutrients to compete with the crop,” added Mikesell.

Another company uses AI to support bees, one of the busiest and threatened employees in the ecosystem. Project Apis m. According to the colony rate, it looks at unprecedented losses at over 50%. Some beekeepers report 100% colony losses. This is a horrifying prospect for almond farmers, relying on bees to pollinate the trees.

The beehive uses AI sensors within the beehive to measure everything from acoustic signatures from the queen to the number of bee visits per minute, giving farmers a real-time understanding of bee compensation and pollination. This will provide the beekeeper with the information they need to help the bees thrive.

“The beekeepers who work with us, their colonies have a 33% lower collapse rate than the industry average,” said Brent Wellington, director of product marketing at Beehero.

John Dear, who leads more than 40% of the US market share Agricultural machinery industry, I also ride an AI. The company has developed a 5ML autonomous tractor used to spray blasts, essentially spraying chemicals to protect the trees. Usually, it is a task that must be done at night, driving in a dangerous material suit, under 3 mph, 6-8 times a year. Chore farmers rather go through the machines.

Ticker	safety	last	change	change %
of	Dear & co.	480.22	+14.00	+3.00%

“The response was really, really positive. The average age of US farmers is about 58 years old, and many of them work from 12 to 18 hours during peak season to manage operations due to a lack of qualified labor.” of production systems for agriculture and turf.

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The AG industry is changing, but farmers and manufacturers alike are embracing what they need to continue growing their crops and producing animals, Ross said.

“It’s very important to keep looking for ways to automate to make the work we have,” Ross said. “How do we think Using technology, Autonomous vehicles, robotics, as a way to create new and better jobs for existing farm workers, attract young people, and their energy and creativity are a new tool that is absolutely essential for our survival. Bring it to technology. ”