By Brad Buck | UF News
Agriculture isn’t just rows of citrus groves and fields of strawberries — it’s Florida’s second-largest economic powerhouse, trailing only tourism. With more than 133,000 jobs riding on its success, farming fuels communities across the Sunshine State.
To protect crop yields and the environment, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is leveraging technology driven by artificial intelligence by building a 40,000-square-foot AI hub at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Hillsborough County. The Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture will serve as a world-class research, Extension and development facility.
Five years of planning will start coming to fruition Nov. 7 as UF officials and other dignitaries break ground on the AI center — an event that aligns with the 100th anniversary celebration of the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
“This will be the cradle for the next technological leaps forward made possible by a 150-year-old land-grant model of academia-industry-government partnership,” said Scott Angle, UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of UF/IFAS. “UF’s historic investment in AI talent, the state legislature’s generous funding to create the space, and farmers’ and processors’ embrace of innovation will make Florida an even greater force for good in feeding the world.”
Harnessing AI efficiency
AI and robotics can autonomously accomplish many tasks that traditionally require manual labor. By developing these tools, AI can increase the number of technology-driven, competitive-paying jobs on the farm. Another advantage: applying AI to challenging problems often leads to startup companies that could benefit Florida’s economy.
At the new UF hub, AI scientists will work with researchers throughout UF/IFAS to study ways to breed plants that resist pests and disease, thus boosting crop yields for farmers. These AI scientists also will work to help ensure growers use fewer chemicals to grow their crops.
“We envision faculty at the AI center will use new technology to solve growers’ problems with more speed and efficiency than ever before,” said Gulf Coast Research and Education Center Director Jack Rechcigl, Ph.D. “Florda farmers are battling myriad issues, and one of the few ways to successfully cope with those vexing problems is to use AI technology, sometimes known as the fourth industrial revolution.”
Plans call for a state-of-the-art research shop, equipped with everything needed to design and build robotic technologies for agriculture.
The hub also will include office space, as well as areas designed to encourage conversations about building teams for AI research and Extension (the outreach arm of UF/IFAS). Those discussions are critical. While the center will be based in Balm, center-based faculty will develop technologies for many Floridians, whether they work in agriculture or other economic sectors.
Rechcigl estimates the center will directly employ 100 people, including computer scientists, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, AI specialists, graduate students and support staff.
Economic benefits for Hillsborough and Manatee counties include improved agricultural production and more technology-focused jobs in the sector; new research and teaching faculty; resources and expertise needed to support tech startups that will draw new industries into Florida; and training programs for farmers, students and the public.
UF/IFAS blazes an AI trail
UF/IFAS is a leader in the university-wide AI initiative, with hundreds of faculty members leveraging AI in their research. In the past five years, the institute has hired 16 faculty members who specialize in developing ways to utilize AI to improve technology for agriculture and natural resources. UF also has HiPerGator, the fastest supercomputer owned and operated by a university in the U.S.
Using AI technology, scientists at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center have already begun conducting considerable, practical research.
Kevin Wang, Ph.D., an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, utilizes AI to help plant scientists speed up the process of breeding for resistance to heat, disease and pests.
Dana Choi, Ph.D., also an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, uses digital twin technology to simulate strawberry growing seasons, even when the fruit is not in season. This allows farmers to know when to plant and spray, and it helps them predict their harvests.
Nathan Boyd, Ph.D., a professor of horticultural sciences and the associate director of the center, has developed a startup company in which he uses AI to spray weeds without damaging surrounding crops.
“The survival of our agricultural industries, like fruit and vegetable production, depends on the development of new technologies utilizing AI to help our growers be competitive in a global environment,” Rechcigl said. “More specifically, the economic impact of the AI center will be widespread. The center will strengthen the agricultural industry as well as support manufacturing industries focused on AI-based robotic technologies.”