By Jonathan Eisenthal
Former Minnesota Corn Scholarship recipient Luke Gordon and his classmates are building an artificial intelligence model to drive herbicide sprayers. They are also digging deep into GPS-driven autonomy of farm equipment. Gordon is working toward a Bachelor of Science in agriculture systems technology.
“Agriculture is changing every day,” said the South Dakota State University senior, who grew up on a corn and soybean farm in Worthington. “The technology aspect, although it can be overwhelming, is going to be a very important part of agriculture, looking forward. (These innovations) can save chemical costs, and reduce usage, but also help growers make good input decisions… Autonomy yields more and reduces operator fatigue and operator stress. There are so many different technologies we use every day on our farm. Variable seeding rates and variable fertilizing rates will also save a lot of money, just compared to the old broadcast rate across the board.”
The student’s sprayer has individual nozzle control, with cameras on the boom, run by a GPU graphics unit that feeds imagery to the student-designed AI software. Hypothetically, the rig can tell weeds from crop plants, and spray only the weeds. The major equipment manufacturers already have this cutting-edge technology commercially available.
“We upload identifying pictures, apply the model, and then see how accurate it is,” Gordon said.
Working on the challenges to AI-controlled sprayers helps Gordon develop skills he can use on day one of his first job, which he hopes to start soon after graduating in May.
Minnesota Corn offers up to four college scholarships worth $5,000 apiece each year to promising students pursuing degrees and careers in agriculture. The organization requires students to be members of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA) to be eligible for a scholarship, and they must be pursuing a full-time courseload at a college or trade school. Student membership in MCGA is $20 and can be purchased online at mncorn.org/join.
This year’s Minnesota Corn scholarship application is due Jan. 5 by 10 p.m. You can find the application online at the Minnesota Corn application portal, mncorn.smapply.io. Minnesota Corn will announce the 2025 scholarship winners in the spring. Minnesota Corn requires scholarship winners to submit a copy of paid college registration for the fall 2025 semester to receive the award.
Click here to see more...