AI in Agriculture Advancing Rapidly

In late January, a Chinese company introduced the world to its newest artificial intelligence (AI) product, writes Editor Eric Sfiligoj at CropLife. Called DeepSeek, this program was reportedly as advanced as existing AI programs but had been developed at a fraction of the cost. Almost immediately, the stocks for U.S. technology companies with AI systems plunged in market value, temporarily sending financial shockwaves throughout the nation’s economy.

This incident helped aptly illustrate a point made by Brian Lutz, Vice President, Agricultural Solutions at Corteva Agriscience, at the 2025 Illinois Fertilizer & Chemical Association (IFCA) annual meeting a few weeks earlier in January.

“I’m sure you are all hearing quite a bit of buzz about AI and how it will impact various parts of our lives and industries,” said Lutz. “You don’t have to look far at all to see AI in action. Really, AI is all around us.”

Of course, the evidence suggests that AI in agriculture is still somewhat underperforming. In CropLife® magazine’s ag technology survey, conducted in the fall of 2024, the percentage of ag retailers planning to purchase AI-based systems for their operations in 2025 stood at only 28%. This trailed such ag tech segments as drones and software systems in terms of planned purchase percentages (30% and 29%, respectively).

A more recent survey showed similar percentages for AI systems. According to data collected in the 11th annual CropLife Ag Retailer Buying Intentions Survey, 30% of respondents expect to spend increased amounts on AI systems this year (between 1% and more than 11% vs. their 2024 spending). Twenty-two percent expect to spend less on AI products in 2025. The remaining 48% plan to spend the same amount on new AI systems as they did during the 2024 growing season.

Read more at CropLife.