NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RFD News) — Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining ground among farmers, but trusted agronomists remain far more influential when producers make actual purchasing and management decisions, according to findings in McKinsey & Company’s Global Farmer Insights 2026.
Seventeen percent of surveyed farmers globally reported using generative AI for farm-related tasks. In the United States, 11 percent reported paying for AI tools, with adoption tracking early growth rates of technologies such as variable-rate application.
Farmers are using AI primarily for planning, crop management, information gathering, product comparisons, and troubleshooting. Among current users, planning was the leading use case, followed by crop management.
Trust remains a limitation. Only 6 percent of farmers cited generative AI or AI search as a trusted decision source, compared with 56 percent citing technical agronomists. Sales representatives also fell from 67 percent to 56 percent as purchase influencers.
McKinsey says future adoption will depend on tools becoming more farm-specific and better able to incorporate local conditions, producer experience, and agronomic context.
