CSIRO bets the farm on new AI platform for agriculture analytics

The CSIRO has today launched a new artificial intelligence-powered platform that brings together a trove of land-use data for agribusiness to better predict performance. The Rural Intelligence Platform combines a variety of technology developed by CSIRO over the years, including the Digital Soil Map and satellite imagery analysis, to comprehensively assess and monitor rural land anywhere across the country. To do so, RIP takes into account elements like access to water, crop types, rainfall, drought impact, yield and historical productivity. Climate information is also interpreted to show how drought, frost, and heat stress for livestock are likely to impact on farmers. The platform combines all of these features using machines learning, and incorporates an AI-initiated Automation Valuation Model - the same technology used by real estate agencies to gain a quick, relatively accurate estimate of a residential property’s value - that the CSIRO said has can instantly value rural properties with up 90 percent accuracy.