Farmers in North and South Dakota are weaving artificial intelligence, data tools, and equipment trials into their operations to save time and make sharper decisions. During a panel at Grand Farm's Cultivate conference in Fargo, N.D., three producers detailed how they test, adopt, and sometimes reject new technology on their farms.
Testing tech with a three-year plan
Jeff Lakner, who farms near Wessington, S.D., gives any innovation a structured, three-year trial before scaling or abandoning it. "No. 1, we want to give this particular innovation a decent look-over, and that is usually with a three-year trial," he said. Year one is a pilot, working out bugs and building a dialogue with the manufacturer. Year two produces clean, actionable data. Year three forces a decision: cut the technology or expand it. "The overarching concern for us is, 'Is it making our operation better?'" Lakner said.
AI as a time-saving assistant
Nathan Faleide of Wheatland, N.D., uses AI to speed up troubleshooting and make sense of years of farm data. He loaded paper equipment manuals into a system and queries it when something breaks. "I put all of my paper manuals in there, and when something was wrong, I just asked it, and it would pull the reference quickly. That saved me a ton of time," Faleide said. This kind of time-saving application is part of a broader shift toward AI for Operations. Faleide also stressed that raw satellite imagery and field data are useless without context. "All this data I've built up, satellite imagery and field data, it's all meaningless without context," he said. His goal is to record and contextualize everything so future generations can make informed decisions.
What farmers need from tech partners
Stephanie Cook, who farms near Davenport, N.D., prioritizes tools that work reliably and can be taught without frustration. "It has to work. If I'm working in a planter than I haven't seen for 10 months, and I can remember how to use that technology through how many software updates and changes, and I can teach my dad how to use it without making him mad, it'll stay," she said. Cook also pointed to a persistent problem: outsiders assuming women on the farm aren't decision-makers. "If you're going to cold-call our farm and walk in, and I'm the first person you see, don't assume I'm the farmer's daughter," she said. "Our farm is two-thirds female, and we're the ones helping make decisions. If you make that assumption, you might as well not step foot on our farm again."
Faleide said he values relationships over sales pitches. "It's hard to know who a person is unless you're out there and have a relationship. I don't want a pitch and this whole thing, just like, 'Hey, that's cool,' and catch up and talk." Lakner added that companies should expect an integrated approach on diversified operations. "When we have some type of problem that we're looking for solutions for, it's not for the perfect solution, but for options," he said.
Why this matters for operations
The farmers' methods offer a clear framework for evaluating operational technology in any industry. Structured trial periods, like Lakner's three-year window, prevent premature investment and force a go/no-go decision based on real data. AI tools that reduce time spent on repetitive tasks-searching manuals, correlating data-directly improve throughput. And technology adoption stalls without vendor relationships that respect existing workflows and the people who run them. Instead of chasing every new tool, focus on solutions that solve a defined bottleneck and can be taught to the team with minimal friction.
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