A University of Florida researcher says artificial intelligence and robotics are expected to play a larger role in agricultural production as labour shortages continue and regulatory pressures grow. Nathan Boyd, a weed science professor and associate director of the new Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, told the Florida Senate Committee on Agriculture that AI could increase agricultural output by 35 per cent by 2030.
Construction has begun on the new centre at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Hillsborough County. The facility will design and build agricultural robotics and is expected to employ about 100 people. The 2025 state budget includes US$2.25 million for the project.
Boyd said AI systems capable of targeted spraying and crop harvesting could reduce pesticide use and automate tasks that currently depend on manual labour. He said, "Labor is a critical issue. The reason it's becoming more of an issue is, number one, we do have aging farm operators. We also do not have or have a very, very small domestic labor force for agriculture." He noted that reliance on foreign workers has contributed to labour shortages and added that demographic trends suggest further tightening.
As of May 2024, Florida had 9,640 crop, nursery, and greenhouse workers, the second-highest number in the country after California. Florida growers paid an average of US$15.71 per hour to field crop workers as of April. About two-thirds of crop farmworkers in the United States are immigrants, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Boyd said robotics will become more important as labour availability declines. "We have to come up with a solution for, 'How are we going to continue to grow the food that we do in Florida, with fewer people?' So, here comes the robots," he said.
He added that technology can improve yields and product quality by monitoring plant health and development. While advanced systems are currently more accessible to large operations, Boyd said they can also be adapted for smaller growers.
The Florida Department of Commerce has designated agricultural technology as a target industry, identifying it as an area with potential for job creation and long-term growth. Market projections cited by Boyd indicate that robotic harvesting, valued at US$236 million in 2022, may reach US$6.8 billion by 2030. Agriculture drones are expected to represent a US$18 billion industry within five years.
Artificial intelligence development is also a broader focus for the University of Florida, which hosts HiPerGator, the most powerful supercomputer owned by a U.S. university.
Source: Florida Phoenix
