Building the Foundation: Teaching AI to See

Building the Foundation: Teaching AI to See

Dr. Steven Mirsky of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) explains how the digital infrastructure behind artificial intelligence is being built today to power the future of agriculture. From computer vision and image repositories to BenchBot and the Digital Agricultural Systems Hub (DASH), he shares how researchers are creating the datasets, tools, and standards needed to train AI systems that can detect pests, diseases, crop stress, and other field conditions. Steven also discusses why collaboration across government, academia, and industry is essential to moving these innovations from research to real-world impact.

Trait Innovation and the Future of Farming

Charlie Baxter, Head of Trait R&D at Syngenta discusses how plant traits, biotechnology and genome editing are shaping the future of agriculture. From insect resistance and herbicide tolerance to AI-driven trait discovery and precision breeding, Charlie explains how crop trait innovation is helping farmers improve yield, strengthen climate resilience and advance sustainable farming practices. The conversation also explores the future of crop improvement, the evolving role of genetic technologies in agriculture and how companies like Syngenta are developing next-generation solutions to help feed a growing global population.

AgTech at a Crossroads: Capital, Innovation, and Resilience

In this final episode of the Climate-Ready Agriculture series, agtech investor and innovation advisor Mark Brooks shares insights on how new technologies, research, and business decisions are shaping the future of agriculture. The conversation explores emerging trends in agtech, how climate challenges are influencing real-world decisions across the food system, and why stronger collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry will be key to building more resilient agricultural systems.

AI-Powered Plant Breeding with Avalo

Mariano Alvarez, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Avalo, shares how AI and machine learning are reshaping plant breeding. From genomic prediction to advanced modeling and data-driven decision-making, we explore how advanced tools are accelerating crop development and helping breeders tackle complex traits like heat tolerance, drought response, and nitrogen use efficiency.  The conversation highlights how AI is reshaping the speed, cost, and impact of modern crop development—from the lab to the field.

MRV: From Measurement to Impact with Bill Salas

In this episode, Bill Salas, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Regrow, explains how MRV—measurement, reporting, and verification—is helping agriculture quantify environmental and agronomic outcomes at the field level. The conversation explores how satellite data, models, and farm-level information come together to support climate-ready agriculture, enable regenerative programs, and help growers and agri-food companies make informed, data-driven decisions.