Florida’s agriculture industry, the state’s second-largest economic engine —trailing only tourism and supporting over 133,000 jobs —is about to receive a significant technological boost.
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is moving forward with the construction of a cutting-edge, 40,000-square-foot artificial intelligence (AI) hub to help farmers tackle persistent challenges like pests, disease, rising costs, and labor shortages.
Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture
The new facility, named the Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, is set to break ground on November 7 at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Balm, southeast of Tampa. This groundbreaking will coincide with the 100th-anniversary celebration of GCREC.
“This will be the cradle for the next technological leaps forward made possible by a 150-year-old land-grant model of academia-industry-government partnership,” said Scott Angle, UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of UF/IFAS. He emphasized that the collaboration between UF’s AI investment, state funding, and the industry’s embrace of innovation will cement Florida’s role in global food production.
AI as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”
The center is envisioned as a world-class research, Extension, and development facility focused on leveraging AI and robotics. These technologies are expected to autonomously accomplish many tasks traditionally requiring manual labor, thereby creating more technology-driven, competitive-paying jobs on farms.
Jack Rechcigl, director of GCREC, underscored the urgency of the initiative. “Florida farmers are battling myriad issues, and one of the few ways to successfully cope with those vexing problems is to use AI technology, sometimes known as the fourth industrial revolution.”
AI scientists at the hub will work with UF/IFAS researchers statewide to study pest and disease-resistant plant breeding, boost crop yields, and help growers use fewer chemicals.
The facility will feature a state-of-the-art research shop to design and build robotic technologies, alongside office and collaboration spaces. Rechcigl estimates the center will directly employ about 100 people, including computer scientists, engineers, and specialists.
Economic and Research Impacts
The Center’s economic benefits are expected to reach beyond agriculture, particularly in Hillsborough and Manatee counties.
These benefits include improved agricultural production, an increase in technology-focused jobs, the creation of new research and teaching faculty positions, and attracting new industries through the support of tech start-ups and training programs. The application of AI to challenging problems is a known driver of start-up companies that benefit the state’s economy.
UF/IFAS is already a leader in the university’s AI initiative, leveraging resources like HiPerGator, the fastest AI computer in U.S. academia, and has hired 16 faculty specializing in AI for agriculture in the past five years.
Practical AI research is already underway at GCREC:
- Dr. Kevin Wang is using AI to speed up the breeding of heat-, disease-, and pest-resistant plants.
- Dr. Dana Choi utilizes digital twin technology to simulate strawberry growing seasons, helping farmers with planting, spraying, and harvest predictions.
- Dr. Nathan Boyd has developed a start-up company that uses AI to spray weeds precisely without damaging surrounding crops.
“The survival of our agricultural industries like fruit and vegetable production depends on the development of new technologies utilizing AI to help our growers be competitive in a global environment,” Rechcigl concluded, noting the center will strengthen both the agricultural and manufacturing industries focused on AI-based robotic technologies.
READ: Florida Launches $25 Million Grant Program To Boost Agricultural Water Solutions
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