Nowadays, it takes more than just horsepower to drive some of the best ag tools. Artificial intelligence is becoming a leading force in driving innovation that not only helps boost efficiency and productivity for producers but also can make their farms more sustainable.
A high-tech startup called Enriched Ag maintains there are fewer AI-powered tools available to ranchers, but it’s working to change that.
“Our current product offerings serve rangeland and pasture specifically, as we’ve felt these sectors are underserved in terms of advanced image analytics and machine learning-based solutions,” says Kalon Armstrong, Enriched Ag’s business development leader.
Founded in 2019, Enriched Ag is a business located at Billings, Mont., that is expanding into the Canadian market.
Armstrong, based in Calgary, says his company offers a trio of software and hardware platforms called Insights, Vision and RealTime that enables ranchers to better manage grazing practices on their land.
Billy Cook, vice-president of producer relations at Enriched Ag, notes the solutions are different than how many ranchers make their grazing decisions.
“From a forage management perspective, we have a dynamic tool, whereas most grazing management approaches are pretty static,” he says.
He adds the Enriched Ag solutions provides more flexibility since it allows users to examine and track numerous factors that influence grazing over time. Ranchers can then use this information to adjust their management decisions as needed.
Insights
Released by Enriched Ag in 2022, Insights is a software solution that relies on satellite imagery, site-specific weather information and complex data crunching to help guide ranchers’ decisions.
Data generated by Insights includes:
- Current and forecasted forage production and grazing information
- Optimal recovery periods for grazing areas that are pasture- and herd-specific
- Stocking recommendations
- Rainfall and water analytics
- Bare ground detection and tracking
- Sequestered carbon estimates
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Armstrong notes Insights uses images from Sentinel-2 satellites operated by the European Space Agency, with the data typically updated every five to 10 days.
According to Cook, Insights can help producers cut costs through data-driven grazing rotation recommendations that potentially increase grazing days and reduce the need to buy supplemental hay to feed livestock.
“Enriched Ag Insights also provides early signals when forage production is abnormal, which gives ranchers a chance to make timely management decisions that include buying or selling cattle or purchasing hay or feed,” he says.
An Enriched Ag press release states Insights is being used by dozens of U.S. ranchers, who continue to provide valuable feedback to improve the platform. One of them is Bob McCan of McFaddin Enterprises at Victoria, Texas, who manages 13 cow-calf operations on three ranches with individual grazing systems.
In the release, McCan describes Insights as an innovative, user-friendly tool for managing forage volumes on specific pastures, fine-tuning grazing systems for better livestock nutrition and improving range conditions for cattle and wildlife.
“Knowing real-time forage volumes is incredibly valuable to managers like me, who are challenged with weather extremes and timing issues associated with cow-calf operations,” he said.
According to Armstrong, Enriched Ag’s Insights tool includes analysis of up to 10,000 acres of ranch land. It can be purchased on a subscription basis for US$50 per month.
Vision + Insights
Launched in 2023, Vision is a smart camera system that adds precise image analytics to Enriched Ag’s Insights platform.
Vision is comprised of a twin camera unit that can be mounted on ranch vehicles like trucks, tractors and UTVs. The cameras collect data at the same time producers are doing their regular drives checking pastures, water sources and livestock. Ranchers can also take point-of-interest photos with their own smartphones and upload them to the system.
“We’re not asking people to drive anywhere they wouldn’t drive otherwise,” says Armstrong. “They’re doing what they were already planning to do, and they’re going to have a huge trove of data.”
Once data is uploaded via Wi-Fi to Enriched Ag’s intelligent image library, machine learning techniques are used to identify, tag and quantify items such as forage heights, vegetation makeup, biodiversity, patches of bare ground and fences needing repair.
Ranchers can view and analyze the information on a dashboard device to help inform decisions on matters such as grazing strategies, erosion control, invasive weed management, herd management and improving animal health.
When producers make changes to improve their operations, the combined Insights and Vision system enables them to see how those changes are reflected over time and quantify the outcomes of their management decisions.
Armstrong maintains that’s bound to help producers who suspect there’s some kind of change going on, like bare soil accumulating or erosion happening, but aren’t sure because they can’t verify it.
“Once an image is collected that’s time-stamped and geotagged, you have that as a permanent benefit for any kind of analysis you do in the future,” he says. “You’re going to able to do longitudinal studies, you’re going to be able to add new object detectors, all sorts of things. But if you don’t have that information recorded, it’s lost.”
The cost for the camera hardware in Enriched Ag’s Vision system is US$799, and then there’s a monthly subscription fee of US$99 for access to the combined Vision and Insights platform.
RealTime + Vision + Insights
Also launched in 2023, RealTime is Enriched Ag’s premier offering that adds satellite internet connectivity and a customized tablet to the Vision and Insights systems.
RealTime can be utilized to pinpoint locations for monitoring forage, bare ground, biodiversity, brush encroachment or weeds. Because producers and other ranch workers are able to view images and data in real time, without worrying about unreliable or non-existent Wi-Fi reception, management decisions can be made in the moment.
Cook notes ranchers always want to take care of sick animals, broken fences and water issues right away, but they’re often hampered by a lack of connectivity. With RealTime’s satellite connectivity, producers can stay connected to their entire ranch team, as well as others such as veterinarians and trusted advisors if needed, for a faster response.
Armstrong says for larger operations with lots of personnel and vehicles, RealTime can serve as a fleet management tool as well.
For its data transmission, RealTime uses SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network. SpaceX and John Deere announced a strategic partnership this past January aimed at expanding rural connectivity for farmers through expanded satellite communications services.
“The reason we selected Starlink was just the amazing coverage they have across the U.S. and Canada,” says Armstrong.
“A lot of the companies working in this space have been at the mercy of cellular connectivity,” he adds. “There are limits on cellular data transmission, so it’s not an elegant solution. With the Starlink system … you can start implementing really advanced technology and heavy data processing in the cloud.”
Armstrong says there’s no set price for the combined RealTime, Vision and Insights package as it is a quotation-based offering. For more on Enriched Ag’s products, visit the company’s web site.
Canadian partnerships
Enriched Ag is looking to strike partnerships with producers in Western Canada interested in giving its technology a try. These partnerships are expected to accelerate the development of forage production models in Canada.
According to Kalon Armstrong, the company’s business development leader, this will help train up the tool’s AI models to factor in differences in forage types, weather patterns et cetera between the U.S. and Canadian markets.
One of Enriched Ag’s Canadian partners is Larry Woolliams of Woolliams Farms at Airdrie, Alta. He says he’s enjoyed working with the Enriched Ag team, which he calls “very tech savvy and very futuristic driven.”
Woolliams has already worked with Enriched Ag on one project, a machine-learning based study evaluating pest pressure on his farm back in 2021.
Woolliams will soon embark on another project that examines how Enriched Ag’s Vision system can benefit the practice of using cereal crop residue to support winter livestock grazing.
For this study, he will be using a combine attachment called the Whole Buncher, which is made by a business Woolliams owns called AJ Manufacturing. The Whole Buncher creates straw bunches during harvest, which can then be used to feed cattle during the colder months.
Woolliams, who is set to receive a Vision camera unit from Enriched Ag, will be piloting the Vision system across his Alberta operation this year. He says he believes the technology is “top notch” and has great potential for benefitting Canadian ranchers and farmers.
