By Jeff Wilke
I am guessing many of us are familiar with the 1984 sci-fi movie, The Terminator, whereby Skynet, a self-aware artificial intelligence “AI” defense system, concludes that humanity is a threat to its existence. In response, it launches a nuclear Armageddon to eliminate the human race and then deploys cyborgs that have human flesh exteriors to terminate any survivors. To take it a step further, it sends a specific cyborg assassin “The Terminator” back in time to eliminate the leader of the human resistance, John Connor, before he was even born.
While The Terminator movie’s plot focused on eliminating the human race, today’s Agricultural AI is working with farmers to provide precision tools to better manage production, extreme weather events, labor shortages, pest and disease controls, animal welfare and market volatility. These AI tools include: accurate, timely and efficient crop disease detection and diagnosis systems; autonomous drones/machines that provide precision herbicide and fertilizer application; precision irrigation systems; autonomous planting and harvesting equipment; livestock monitoring systems that detect early signs of injury, illness or stress often before visible symptoms arise; and supply chain and demand forecasting that assists in marketing agricultural commodities.
Companies like John Deere, IBM, CropX and startups like PEAT and Blue River are leading this AI revolution. For example, Blue River’s “See & Spray” autonomous system uses computer vision to identify individual plants and applies herbicide only where needed – drastically reducing chemical usage. John Deere offers retrofit kits (Next Generation Perception System) that add the hardware and software needed (multiple stereo cameras, rugged processors and machine learning models) to allow existing tractors to run autonomously. The CropX AI platform combines soil sensor data and satellite imagery to guide irrigation systems in providing precision water application when and where it is needed. There is also an ingestible AI sensor placed inside cows that measures their temperature to a tenth of a degree. This helps to determine when the cow is ready to be bred, when she is going to have her calf and when she has health concerns.
Agricultural AI has not risen to destroy us. It has risen to help us to produce more, waste less and be more efficient in order to feed an ever-growing human population.
“Hasta la vista”
Wilke is vice president – ag banking officer at Nicolet National Bank in De Pere. Wilke also serves as Past Chair on the 2025–2026 WBA Agricultural Bankers Section Board of Directors.
