When people think of artificial intelligence on the farm they picture robots and drones, and AI is expected to become one of the most transformative technologies in Canadian agriculture over the next decade as it moves into autonomous machinery and precision systems. But, Glacier FarmMedia reports, many experts believe farmers are using it right now for something more practical: better farm management.

'There's two parts to a decision,' says Rob Saik, a professional agrologist and one of Canada's leading voices on agricultural innovation. 'There is the gathering of information to make a prediction. The second part of a decision is judgment.' He believes AI can strengthen both — producers gather weather forecasts, soil moisture, market intelligence, research and farm records, then analyse them before deciding. 'The thinking about your thinking … that's really where the needle will move.'

An FCC/Deloitte report found only about 1.8% of Canadian agricultural businesses reported using AI in 2025, yet Taylor Phillips, technology officer with Maverick Ag, who spends 35–40% of his time helping clients adopt it, says producers 'have actually been using AI whether they know it or not'. Its strength, he says, is acting as devil's advocate — 'I don't think that's the greatest idea you've ever had, and here's some reasons why' — and combining yields, contracts, equipment data and imagery to weigh scenarios and probabilities. Saik cites a producer who cut chemical costs by nearly $1 million this year through better AI-assisted management.

The most immediate impact, both say, is on administration: drafting standard operating procedures, summarising contracts and research, troubleshooting equipment, searching the Saskatchewan Crop Protection Guide with conversational prompts, using ChatGPT's voice interface from the tractor cab, reconciling grain contracts, inventory and cash flow, and condensing several market newsletters into one daily briefing. Systems that learn from a farm's own documents can also preserve its philosophy: 'Your team has access to the CEO's brain without the CEO being there,' Phillips says.

Both warn against treating AI as infallible. 'Alberta is different than Alabama is different than Arkansas. Agriculture is nuanced. You gotta be aware of the hallucinations,' says Saik, who still checks agronomic questions with trusted advisers; Phillips says producers need enough context to know when an answer 'doesn't pass the sniff test'. 'AI won't replace farmers; it will augment them,' Saik says. 'It will accelerate those who adopt it.'

Source: AG Canada