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Wisconsin Soy Checkoff Dives Into AI Using Grower Data

From the moment they wake up, farmers are bombarded with decision after decision.

Though it might not seem like it at the time, even a minor decision’s consequence – whether it be good or bad – may not be realized until months later.

What if there was a program that helped make those decisions easier for farmers?

With a long history of wisely directing checkoff resources toward soybean research, fiscal year 2023 is shaping up to be no different for the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board (WSMB). 

WSMB is diving into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) and the role it has in the agriculture industry by funding the project, “Evaluating the potential of an algorithm-based decision-making tool (Agroptimizer) to increase farmers’ profitability in Wisconsin,” with the University of Wisconsin. Through the research, Dr. Shawn Conley is examining how grower data can be used to develop AI tools.

For this project, the AI program being used is Agroptimizer, which is a decision support tool that uses artificial intelligence algorithms to identify the optimum cropping system that will maximize yield and profitability by sifting through the thousands of possibilities a farmer can choose from in a single field.

The project, which launched in 2021, aims to compare the yield and profitability of University of Wisconsin-recommended soybean and corn cropping systems with AI-recommended systems.

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Developing disease resistance in new wheat varieties

Video: Developing disease resistance in new wheat varieties


Dr. Colin Hiebert, research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Morden, is focused on developing new tools that wheat breeders can use to improve, diversify and strengthen disease resistance in new wheat varieties. This includes new genomic tools that address resistance to five diseases including: Fusarium head blight, leaf rust, stripe rust, stem rust and common bunt.

Learn more about how research conducted at AAFC-Morden will impact wheat variety development, production and profitability for the future. This research is part of the Canadian National Wheat Cluster and funding is provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Grains, Sask Wheat, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Western Grains Research Foundation and Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance.