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Mobile platform giving farmers instant answers

Having previously connected with investors through growAG., Les Finemore is now seeking industry partnerships for his latest venture – a mobile app providing instant, informed answers to farmers’ most niche questions. 

Les Finemore is a research scientist and commodity trader who grew up on a cattle farm near Wagga Wagga, his newest innovation, Yarta.ai dubbed the ‘ChatGPT of Aussie agriculture’, puts expert knowledge and advice at the users’ fingertips. 

Yarta.ai uses similar large language model (LLM) technology to the popular chatbot and promises to transform the way farmers access critical information, delivering a powerful AI-powered consultant to the pockets of farmers.  
 
The platform, available on web and iOS, draws on millions of data points to provide instant responses backed by specialised research which users can click through to explore further. 
 
“We use our own proprietary LLM and have curated the content to be highly bespoke to Aussie growers,” Les said. 

“There’s so much great research being done in agriculture, but farmers either don’t have time to read through studies or they don’t even know they exist."

“Whether it’s a grain farmer looking for agronomy advice or a commodity trader looking for the latest production forecasts, Yarta uses the power of artificial intelligence to provide instant answers to questions which may have taken several days in the past. 
 
“In the past I’d need to Google something, look around for a trustworthy source, sift through content that’s optimised to show me ads, and often end up needing to ask a consultant anyway. 
 
“That process can take hours, affecting farmers’ productivity and bottom line. We’re aiming to give farmers more time and more resources to upskill.” 

Interested in partnering with Yarta? Visit growAG. to read more about their opportunity here.

Pictured: Founder and director of Yarta.ai, Les Finemore.

AI unlocking the future

Les said artificial intelligence technology like Yarta.ai is driving the future of agriculture. 
 
“AI is transforming the way we produce, trade and consume food and agricultural commodities,” he said. 
 
“It presents unprecedented opportunities for improved efficiency, production, and resilience across the agrifood supply chain.” 
 
Les said the advantage of using Yarta.ai over Google or ChatGPT is the bespoke LLM built specifically for the Australian agriculture industry. 
 
“Our background in the industry allows us to curate the niche content that farmers need,” he said. 
 
“The app has the same conversational interface as ChatGPT, so you can start with a broad question and then dive down into the specifics if you like. 

“You can say ‘what are good chemicals to use for this purpose?’, then ask more about a specific product, get the label information, application rate, safety information – all in a few seconds in one platform. 

“We’re giving quick answers to farmers from trusted sources from people in the industry.” 

Connecting tech with industry

Yarta is now looking to partner and engage with agribusinesses and industry experts through growAG.
 

The multi-faceted opportunity is open to agribusinesses who could benefit from using the technology and sharing information directly with farmers, as well as Australian agricultural sectors interested in a centralised research, data and advice hub. 

Yarta is also on the hunt for innovators and solution providers who can provide research data, development expertise, or integrate the app with their existing platforms. 
 
Les said growAG. has been essential to connect him with key industry partners in Australia given he is now largely based in Mexico City.

“One of the key benefits of growAG. is the fact you don’t necessarily need to have existing connections to rely on – you can find them through the platform,” he said. 

“For me the online aspect is important as it gives you access to a global network. I’ve been away from Australia for a while now so am a bit of an outsider, so it’s crucial for us that we have a networking tool like this.” 
 
In addition to the mobile app, Yarta has developed commodity trading exchanges and logistics tools to assist in the movement and traceability of commodities, creating an all-encompassing solution for the agricultural sector. 

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