Despite experts warning of AI’s risks, N.L. farmers see AI

Despite experts warning of AI’s risks, N.L. farmers see AI-powered tools as the way of the future

'I think AI is probably the next big step for farming,' says NLFA president Wayne Simmons

N.L. farmers hope AI will be a helpful tool to boost production

Farmers in Newfoundland and Labrador are eager to embrace how artificial intelligence (AI) could help boost production, though experts warn there are environmental and social hurdles to its adoption.

Green Farm N.L., an indoor hydroponic farm based in Mount Pearl's Donovans industrial park, uses nutrient-enriched water to grow crops like spinach, lettuce and basil year-round in towers that are illuminated by UV lights.

"It takes a lot of different technologies to allow us to produce things, distribute them and do direct retail," CEO Scott Neary told CBC News.

For farmers like Neary, AI is seen as a game-changer.

Federal Crown corporation Farm Credit Canada (FCC) recently released a report, titled AI in Canadian Agriculture, exploring the ways AI can be used in the agriculture industry, including for automation, monitoring crop and animal health, as well as the use of chatbots.

"AI can play a big role in helping farmers do things that they normally wouldn't be able to do without it," Neary said, who has already incorporated some AI tools into his farming operation, including using an AI-powered chatbot to monitor plant health.

"We've learned to integrate our climate control equipment and our sensors and have it centrally controlled, monitored and maintained by AI as well, which really gives us a big leg up over the large scale competitors in Ontario and California and beyond,” he added.

However, experts warn about the environmental cost that comes from AI usage, like its heavy carbon footprint, as well ethical considerations.

Kelly Bronson, a Canada Research Chair in Science and Society at the University of Ottawa, said "It's very, very costly.” For instance, AI can be used to track workers to learn and collect data; a process that can be punishing on people.

"So one worker reported to this colleague of mine that they couldn't even stop picking fruit in this greenhouse to wring out their shirt with sweat. And these are grueling environments to work in," said Bronson.

Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture (NLFA) president Wayne Simmons said the environmental impacts are necessary trade-offs for the potential benefits.

"I think they're necessary evil to have," said Simmons. "If you're feeding the country well, why not, you know. It's a positive in that way."

Simmons also manages a farm in Little Rapids where they’ve incorporated AI through a GPS system in its tractor to avoid over-spreading fertilizer on crops.

FCC's report highlighted the challenges that could hinder the adoption of AI in the agriculture industry, like the problem of internet connectivity in rural areas as well as questions over who owns the data.

According to FCC executive vice-president Darren Baccus, making sure the technology works is their biggest challenge.

“It would mean a lot more if we hear from our neighbours and peers that they have tried this and in fact they have validated that this makes more efficient, more productive farming for the industry,” said Baccus.

Anne Pasek, an associate professor at Trent University and the Canada Research Chair in Media, Culture and the Environment, said being cautious and ensuring the success of the adoption is crucial for the farmers who will use them.

"What we need is regulation and industry advocacy to be met with consumer protections and sectoral guidance on what is actually going to be worth its salt," said Pasek.

AI tools require large data centres to support them, which can draw on massive amounts of energy, land and water, which has prompted public backlash against their developments.

Pasek points out the role government can play in AI's adoption.

"We need to think about how we are creating a policy environment, where those data centres have a place to go, where they are not being pursued by communities as a burden,” said Pasek.

“And where we have robust rules set up to mitigate some of the significant environmental and economic harms that can come with having one of these [data centres] in your neighborhood.”

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Baccus said the recent FCC report is “not a solution report. It is 'here's the opportunity, here's what's being done, here are some of the challenges.'"

Farmers like Neary believe this development is what the industry needs for the future.

"If we're not finding ways to not only increase our own competitiveness, but also stay competitive with the rest of the industry around the world, then I think that's going to be a big problem for food security," said Neary.

"So I think that's why it's so important for people not only to want to adopt AI, but for them to almost need to adopt AI over the next 10 years."

However, experts argue the adaptation of AI isn’t a foregone conclusion.

"It’s not necessary. We have tried and true methods for generating food for more local community-based food security… in ways that don’t harm the environment," says Bronson.

Simmons believes AI adoption is a matter of when — not if.

"I think that's the way of the future," said Simmons. "I think we need it and it's coming. So you can support or not support it, and everybody else is going to be ahead of you and you can be behind."

"I think AI is probably the next big step for farming," Simmons said.

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Max Baco is a journalist working CBC News based in St. John's.