Agriculture isn’t just rows of citrus groves and fields of strawberries – it’s Florida’s second largest economic powerhouse, trailing only tourism. With more than 133,000 jobs riding on its success, farming fuels communities across the Sunshine State.
But farmers face numerous challenges: pests, diseases, labor, rising costs and more.
To protect crop yields and the environment, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is leveraging powerful tools such as technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
To expedite the development of AI-driven technology, UF/IFAS is set to build a 40,000-square-foot AI hub at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Balm, about 25 miles southeast of Tampa. The Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture will serve as a world-class research, Extension and development facility.
Five years of planning will start coming to fruition Nov. 7 as UF officials and other dignitaries break ground on the AI center. The groundbreaking will be part of the 100th anniversary celebration of GCREC.
Click here for more on the AI center.
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