There are many times we don’t truly realize the power technology wields in our lives. From the cars we drive, to the restaurants we frequent, technology is everywhere. Take AI for example. AI has been game-changing the last few years, transforming operations and ramping up innovation worldwide.
One company in particular, has taken AI to the next level. Nature Fresh Farms, a greenhouse farm in Ontario, is leveraging AI to produce the freshest and sweetest berries in the market.
Nature Fresh Farms scaled and transformed their operations using Intel-powered AI. At the most recent AI Field Day 4 event, they spilled the beans about their AI stack.
Bigger Undertakings for Bigger Yields
Nature Fresh Farms started as a 16-acre greenhouse many years ago. It was designed with a data-forward approach using one computer. Over the course of time, the overall operations and the behind-the-scenes IT stack have expanded hand in hand.
Their goal is to grow more crops per meter square, and increase the yield year-over-year, said Keith Bradley, VP of IT and Security.
It is no secret that Intel sets the standard for distinguished computer hardware in the market. So, leveraging Intel’s solutions is a no-brainer, he said.
Starting initially with a 3-node cluster, the team soon realized that more power and efficiency would be required to get to the goal. Upgrading to the Intel Gen3 processors and adding more compute, they knew would be the differentiator, to get AI to generate better results and move on from reactive farming to getting ahead of the weather patterns.
With the stack in order, Nature Fresh Farms taps into data. The company captures data through rows of sensors planted across the greenhouse that monitor soil moisture, temperature density, CO2, vegetation growth and a range of other factors. The data is fed into the primary datacenter at the edge for processing.
The defining factor is a host of AI models, 32 till date, that is used to crunch this data and flesh out insights.
These technical changes have amounted to consistent and impressive increase in yield year-over-year. But more importantly, the ability to leverage CO2 emissions to help stimulate overall plant growth is exactly what Nature Fresh Farms needed to see continued success in their operation.
There are still ways to go as within the greenhouse, manual intervention is still key to performing many of the daily tasks. But the team is optimistic that strategic adjustments like this will get them to where they want to be.
AI for the Future and Beyond
Anytime we see powerful tools like AI being used in real-life situations, it sparks excitement and optimism. If organizations can continue to build on what LLMs have started, and utilize more hyperconverged systems within the organization, the possibilities will truly be endless.
It’s little wonder that more businesses are leveraging Intel hardware regularly for these kinds of deployments. The continued growth of both Nature Fresh Farms and Intel is nothing short of spectacular. Watching Intel rise continually to the top of the game and change the way AI is deployed is all the more remarkable.
For more, be sure to check out Nature Fresh Farms’ presentation with Intel from the recent AI Field Day event.
