AI delivers insights to FAR growers within seconds

From this month, a new tool, 'Ask FAR AI', will help farmers access thousands of research reports and extension documents relevant to growing and harvesting many different crops within the touch of a button.

The tool is a New Zealand first and is being held up by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and New Zealand designers Custom-D, as a cutting-edge application of generative AI technology.

According to FAR, if you ask the AI tool, 'When should I put N on ryegrass seed crops?', it provides a summarised answer where key points are directly referenced to one of 18 documents on the website.

"Using the standard search function, you would just get the list of 18 documents and then have to go through them to find specific information," it says.

Ask FAR AI solves that problem by doing all the searching, summarising the information available and providing referenced links to the full documents, on the FAR website. Ask FAR AI will only consider information from the FAR website so growers can be certain that answers are based on independent New Zealand research.

Dr Haren Samarasekera, head of enterprise, industry & greenfield at AWS New Zealand, says generative AI is transforming how we live, work and connect, with exciting opportunities for innovation and growth.

Tens of thousands of organisations are testing, learning, and building on generative AI tools, and it's exciting to see FAR starting on their own journey of innovation and productivity with Amazon Bedrock, a generative AI-managed service, he told Rural News.

"Like many organisations, FAR has a vast amount of information that can help their users - from research reports on how to establish crops, to how soil quality can impact crop growth."

Working with their technology partner, Custom D, they created Caitlyn, which harnesses Amazon Bedrock and advanced Large Language Models (LLMs) to help FAR uncover insights from 30 years' worth of research, using natural conversational search and targeted responses - while keeping sensitive data secure and private.

This means growers can access insight from FAR's database within seconds, without having to go through thousands of research reports and extension documents. A grower can simply ask Caitlyn a question, and receive a simple, accurate and reliable response with citations to FAR documents, that will help them in their work.

"We see great opportunity in providing generative AI tools like Amazon Bedrock to help organisations like FAR quickly summarise and produce information quickly and efficiently, enabling their users to unlock information and insights quickly, accurately, and securely from decades of data," says Dr Samarasekera.

"It's also been great working with technology providers like Custom D who bring AI skills and experience to the market."

Samarasekera says with the website now live, they look forward to seeing FAR's new tool becoming a "go-to arable resource" for growers in New Zealand and seeing FAR "continue its AI transformation journey".

"Innovation is at the heart of what we do at AWS, and we are committed to supporting every organisation by giving them access to cutting-edge technology tools that are easy, cost-effective, and secure to use - so they can continue providing services that have a positive citizen impact."

A True Pioneer

Custom-D director Josh Smith says last year they invited FAR for a session on generative AI, demonstrating how the technology could be leveraged to help growers access their research in an easy and timely manner.

Custom-D director Josh Smith.

"FAR immediately recognised the potential, and we set out to develop a fine-tuned version of Caitlyn integrate into the FAR website," he told Rural News.

"Now live on the website and branded as 'Ask FAR AI', NZ farmers have access to FAR's wealth of research at their fingertips. With the ability to interact using natural language and provide context to the conversation, growers can ask specific questions suh as 'I'm located in Canterbury, what can I do to increase my grass seed yield?', and receive fast, tailored, and region-specific answers in seconds, not hours or days.

"As Caitlyn includes citations that link to source information, answers can be verified, which builds trust in the tool. When clicked, growers are taken to highlighted sections of the underlying research documents, allowing them to dive deeper if necessary. Growers can grade responses and provide feedback, which is used to fine-tune and improve the quality of answers over time."

Smith says another feature is the Insights Dashboard, powered by AWS QuickSight. "This powerful tool provides FAR with valuable data, including anonymised transcripts of Ask FAR AI conversations, analysis of user satisfaction with the service, and sentiment analysis of user interactions. This comprehensive overview allows FAR to continually refine and enhance its AI-driven customer service, ensuring it meets and exceeds user expectations.

"Feedback from beta testers has been extremely positive and we believe FAR will be regarded as a true pioneer in this space and the 'go-to' place to find information growing arable crops.

"As Caitlyn is refined, we're excited about the potential she can bring to other research organisations to benefit New Zealanders and create real-world impact in vital industries such as agriculture."