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AteToday?
Thank a Farmer.
Better Farming
February 2017
FRONTIERS
IN
AG
T
he impact of 21st-century
information technologies on
agriculture will be profound.
The interaction between applied
technologies and agriculture is
growing. We are at a unique moment
where data, produced in many forms,
is now matched with the models and
algorithms to make better sense of it.
How will robotics, artificial
intelligence (AI), machine learning
(ML) and predictive analytics affect
the production of food? What ethical
questions should the decision makers
who support these technologies ask?
Panelists recently discussed these
issues at the University of Toronto’s
Rotman School of Management at an
event titled Machine Learning and
the Market for Intelligence. They
included representatives from Trace
Genomics, UDIO AgTech, Blue River
Technology and Mavrx.
AI, ML and the production of food
“We take a data-driven approach,
using software and ML which does
not require upfront capital costs of
installing sensors, (that) is very easy
to use and takes five minutes per field
to set up,” says Katya Kudashkina of
Toronto-based agricultural software
company UDIO AgTech. “It is
predictive and oriented to create a
balance between costs and yields.
(There are) so many inefficiencies in
(the deployment of) resources in
farming today that we believe this is
where data science and ML can play a
big role.”
Mavrx, a California-based preci-
sion ag company, works with farm cli-
ents to provide a range of field data.
Imaging and crop management
applications track nutrient, irrigation,
hydrology and fertility specifics.
Trace Genomics, co-founded by
Diane Wu and based in California,
provides predictive data analysis of
soil microbiome health and ML
sequencing techniques to predict
yields.
“We see soil as the womb of
agriculture, and its health is essential.
The next wave of farming intelligence
arrives in North America
Robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics promise to change
agriculture yet again.
by MARK JUHASZ
Panelists at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management event on October 27: (left to right)
DianeWu, CEO of Trace Genomics; Lee Redden, co-founder of Blue River Technology; Katya Kudashkina,
CEO of UDIO AgTech; Max Bruner, CEO of Mavrx; and moderator, Ravi Mattu from the
Financial Times
.