BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - North Dakota faces critical labor shortages in the agriculture industry, but one technology could change all that.

Autonomous agriculture refers to self-operating technologies performing farming tasks with minimal to no human intervention.

These use artificial intelligence and data analytics.

The Department of Commerce is launching a competitive funding opportunity offering up to $7.5 million to support projects that advance these efforts in the state.

“There’s a huge economic opportunity for the autonomous agriculture movement in the state. Like I said, we’re leading the nation right now in adoption rate, and our nation’s leading the world,” said Kevin Sonsalla, the Value-added Agriculture Business Development Manager at the North Dakota Department of Commerce.

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