Live Oak

All of Florida's 67 counties have a UF IFAS extension office, each is an educational resource for agriculture, life sciences and natural resources. Charles Barrett, Ph.D. is a regional water resources agent for the northeast extension district. His office, located at Live Oak Farm in Suwannee Valley, Florida, primarily focuses on crop research. 

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Barrett predominantly looks for ways to make production more efficient via water and nutrient management. He works with several types of irrigation and fertilizers to find successful methods for healthy crop yield. Barrett is a proponent of integrating modern elements into agriculture. In fact, Live Oak presently utilizes a variety of different technologies. Barrett says, “A lot of technology on the farm is anywhere from GPS on tractors, on pivots to variable rate technology for irrigation, variable rate fertilizer application methods, variable frequency drive. There's also soil moisture sensors and telemetry is accessed remotely online from a cell phone.” When it comes to AI, Live Oak’s usage is limited, and currently found as an algorithm in some of their irrigation apps, which inform how much irrigation to apply and how that may be impacted by predictive weather, helping farmers make informed decisions. 

 

Barrett’s main goal is to work with farmers and help find crop related solutions. Therefore, Live Oak isn’t well equipped to manage machine learning. Barrett remains a strong proponent of farms adopting and integrating it into their business models. Barrett explains, “Using technology in agriculture in any form is a good thing for agriculture. AI definitely has a role and a greater role moving forward as those technologies get better and we have more uses for them.” Much like any other business, farms should consider adapting and possibly evolving with changing trends, as changes in technology, especially AI, can greatly influence the future of farming. 

 

Barrett warns that farmers can be hesitant to try something new. Some farmers are early adopters while others wait to see results before taking on new technology for themselves. “A lot of small farmers weren’t handed down the farm. A lot of the time they are more likely to adopt new technology. They might not have the funds if they are smaller, especially if it's pricey, but generally they’re a curious bunch.”

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Learn more about UF IFAS Suwannee Valley, FL