Bayer announced today the pilot of a groundbreaking GenAI system utilizing artificial intelligence to benefit farmers and agronomists. This expert system, trained on years of Bayer's proprietary agronomic data and insights from its extensive testing network, promises to transform agricultural decision-making and information access.
The GenAI system is designed to provide quick, accurate answers to complex questions related to agronomy, farm management, and Bayer’s agricultural products. Its development is based on internal data, insights from thousands of trials, and centuries of aggregated experience from global Bayer agronomists. This intuitive tool stands out by responding in natural language, offering expert information within seconds, significantly outperforming standard large language models (LLMs) in the agricultural market.
Amanda McClerren, CIO and Head of Digital Transformation & Information Technology at Bayer’s Crop Science Division, emphasized the system's potential to make AI an indispensable tool in agriculture globally. Bayer's GenAI system is not only about creating better products but also about augmenting and supporting industry experts, thus adding value to farmers and agronomists.
Developed in collaboration with Microsoft and Ernst & Young (EY), Bayer is exploring the integration of this GenAI system into its digital offerings. The system is expected to democratize access to agronomic advice and product information, benefiting millions of smallholder farmers worldwide and contributing to global food security.
Ranveer Chandra, Managing Director of Research for Industry & CTO, Agri-Food at Microsoft, highlighted the role of AI and automation in enhancing decision-making in agriculture, improving productivity while conserving natural resources.
In the future, Bayer plans to expand the GenAI system pilot to selected agronomists and potentially farmers, while also developing a separate prototype allowing direct queries of farm data. These tools, using insights from closed data sets, are poised to offer more relevant value compared to generic LLMs that rely solely on open-source data.
Alongside the GenAI system, Bayer's collaboration with Microsoft extends to AgPowered Services in the agri-food industry. These services include a comprehensive 40-year weather dataset, machine data connectivity with leading OEMs, and tools for regulatory and sustainability reporting, such as the EU Deforestation Regulation compliance.
Jeremy Williams, Head of Digital Farming for Bayer’s Crop Science Division, stressed the importance of accessible digital tools in agriculture, enhancing industry efficiency and driving innovation. The cloud offerings from Bayer and Microsoft aim to provide organizations with ready-made capabilities for faster market entry and greater opportunities for farmers and the value chain.
Bayer’s Crop Science Division experts will be present at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit on March 19-20 in San Francisco to discuss these advancements in GenAI and other digital agricultural technologies.
