Thanks to artificial intelligence, less may soon begin to become more when it comes to chemical herbicides. That is welcome news for farmers, their neighbors, and the environment, as Bloomberg reported.
Weed-killing herbicides represent a huge business for growers. They currently spend $37 billion a year applying it liberally with a more-is-more approach to killing invasive plants that threaten their cash crops.
That can all change with AI-powered cameras controlling sprayers that would more intelligently and precisely target invasive plants. The efficiencies of the technology can lower use of the chemicals by up to 90%.
Jason Miner, global head of agriculture at Bloomberg Intelligence, says the big players like Bayer and BASF "realize selling millions of gallons of product is a blunt and fading model."
Sharply cutting herbicide use comes with more benefits than savings for farmers.
Rampant use contributes to "drift," where the chemicals inadvertently spread to other fields and threaten other crops and animals. That can lead to pricey lawsuits in addition to harm to the surrounding ecosystem.
That's not the only heavy cost that herbicide users have to be wary of. Bayer has already spent $10 billion to address the litigation over the weed killer Roundup. Thousands of plaintiffs link the herbicide to cancer, while the company insists it's safe.
It's still early days for widespread adoption, but companies on the forefront, like Deere & Co. and Brazil's Solinftec, are confident that the tide is turning.
Guilherme Guiné, Solinftec's chief sustainability officer, told Bloomberg that "the chemical companies cannot fight against the reduction of herbicides."
Early evidence suggests he's right. The big companies are proactively adding subscription and consultation models to integrate AI and offset potential revenue losses.
Bayer has developed its own product tapping into AI with a subscription model. BASF has teamed with technology provider Bosch for an offering that automates spraying only where necessary.
That sort of evolution will be essential. Guiné said the AI technology companies are a "threat for sure because they drastically reduce the amount of inputs."
Bayer executive Bob Reiter told Bloomberg that the company is "totally aligned" with the shift. He asserts Bayer wants "to maximize the output the farmers can create but minimize the inputs that they're using." Whether that's true or not is up for debate.
What isn't is that dramatically cutting down on herbicide use is a big win for the planet and farmers.
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