Artificial intelligence (AI) technology developed in Saskatchewan is changing the way farmers look at grain.
From GPS on tractors to individual control over seed drills, agriculture is benefiting from advances in technology, said third-generation farmer Chris Prosick.
“Agriculture is interesting in that way,” he says. “It's evolved ever since it first came into being, but it's probably evolved even more in the last 10 years in terms of technology.”
But what is holding Prosik back is selling the grain.
For generations, grain quality has been graded by humans in elevators and laboratories.
“[They’re] “Look for midge infestation,” Prosick explains. “Usually the color is [to the kernel]. “
“What you want to see is this plump, good quality kernel.”
Grain grading
There are 55 characteristics graders look for in wheat grown in Saskatchewan.
They can be visual or chemical.
Proteins cannot be distinguished by appearance [levels]” Prosick said.
For farmers hoping to get the highest price for their grain, the human eye can be subjective.
“[A grade] “It can vary from truck to truck, field to field, container to container,” Prosick added. “That's where machines can be a big help.”
That's when Procyk found Ground Truth.Ag.
A Saskatchewan company taught AI to grade grain.
“The AI ​​looks at a photo and identifies every single kernel in the photo,” COO Divyesh Patel told CTV News during the demonstration, “and then it goes through each kernel one by one.”
Farmers and elevator operators can pour a sample into the machine and grade the grain within seconds, eliminating the guesswork that producers have struggled with for a century.
“We can look at every kernel and assign a very specific damage score to each kernel, which makes the analysis much more consistent,” Patel said.
Financial impact
Prosick said the difference between grade 1 and grade 2 grain is only a few cents per bushel and can be much greater going from grade 2 to grade 3.
In the planning for the entire harvest, this could mean thousands of dollars in losses.
“Every single increase matters,” he continued.
Ground Truth believes its AI system can create consistency at all levels of the supply chain, keeping grades the same through multiple transactions of the same grain.
“It slows down those processes because every time something gets loaded onto a truck or a train it has to be graded,” Patel said. “It makes the whole supply chain move more efficiently. It makes the trade and grading happen faster.”
The Future of AI in Agriculture
Kyle Falk, CEO of Ground Truth.AG, believes these are just the first steps for AI in agriculture.
“Agriculture is no stranger to change,” he says. “We've undergone some evolution over the last 100 years.”
“AI has great potential, and it's up to us to imagine it and harness it,” Falk added.
Posick says it's unclear where AI will take the industry next.
“The possibilities are endless,” he said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
When asked what his grandfather would say about farmers using AI, Posick replied, “He would think we're crazy.”
He added that AI could help farmers have more confidence in their production processes and help Saskatchewan produce the high-quality grains for which it is known around the world.
“Faster information means faster decisions and more accurate decisions,” Posick said. “And you don't have to start over because of insufficient information.”
