The wizard of crops: Microsoft’s ‘Oz’ aims to transform farming

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that an AI-powered tool called “Oz” is heading out of, or near, the Emerald City.

On November 12, Microsoft and Land O’Lakes announced that the two companies have co-developed an AI-powered agricultural science tool called “Oz,” designed to help farmers and agricultural operations. Specifically, farmers are facing some very serious problems: labor shortages and lower yields associated with changing climates. Further, costs for fuel, fertilizer, equipment, and tools, not to mention international trade issues, have put agricultural operations in an even tighter vise.

Oz was built to help agronomists and farmers do more with what they have, tapping into Land O’Lakes’s vast reams of agricultural data and insights, previously available only in a bound, 800-p