AI in Agriculture: Three Experimental Centres Pool Expertise for the Future

Through the ‘Digital Experimental Fields’ programme currently underway, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH) is promoting the development of AI applications and their use in agriculture. The projects, which are funded by the BMLEH and overseen by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), are designed to help research AI-supported digital technologies for crop production and livestock farming and to test their practical suitability. On 19 and 20 May 2026, managers and staff from the DiKI-Südwest, EXPRESS.smart and Farmer-SpaceAI (information available in German only) experimental fields met for their first in-person workshop in Darmstadt. The aim was to establish a network between the experimental fields and to coordinate the use of large language models (LLMs) in agricultural practice.

The DiKI-Südwest project is developing an LLM-based advisory service for practical agriculture that can also incorporate farm data. The EXPRESS.smart project aims to reduce the administrative burden for practitioners in fruit growing and viticulture through data literacy and smart documentation of farm data. The aim of the FarmerSpaceAI project is to develop a specialised chatbot to provide digital decision support for efficient and sustainable crop protection in agricultural practice.

Real Progress Through Cooperation

During the first in person workshop, representatives from the participating pilot projects discussed conceptual and operational issues. Throughout the duration of the pilot projects, which runs until the end of 2028, the participants aim to harness cross-project synergies in order to reduce limitations imposed by project frameworks, avoid parallel developments and establish common thematic priorities.

In an open and constructive atmosphere, the participants identified approaches for substantive collaboration and outlined possible joint development paths. The workshop was organised by the secretariat of the “Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e. V.” (KTBL , website in German only). Daniel Martini, an expert in digital technologies at the KTBL, emphasises: “This cooperation avoids duplication of effort and parallel developments, and creates scope for genuine progress.”

Looking ahead, the newly established working group aims to develop cross-project, joint data sets and questionnaires, as well as to devise and implement possible formats such as challenges, hackathons or joint position papers.

Key Technology: AI

Bringing together relevant stakeholders supports joint approaches to the practical application of LLMs in agriculture and the development of trustworthy AI solutions. The working group addresses the establishment of data infrastructures, knowledge transfer and the clarification of legal issues. The BMLEH’s Digital Experimental Fields thus contribute directly to the objectives of the High-Tech Agenda Germany (HTAD) by, for example, strengthening AI expertise across the board in the medium and long term and increasing value creation in agriculture through the use of AI.

Further Information:

• The HTAD roadmap on AI as a key technology, as well as detailed information on objectives and measures, can be found here (in German only).