Cornell University is part of the nation-wide AI-LEAF Institute led by the University of Minnesota that aims at creating AI-powered knowledge and solutions to help empower farmers, foresters, and other agricultural stakeholders to mitigate and adapt to climate change. To read more about the full work of the AI-LEAF Institute please visit https://cse.umn.edu/aileafi

The Cornell AI-LEAF Team is made up of around thirty faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students across multiple disciplines including Computer Science , the School of Integrative Plant Science, the Dyson School of Economics, the Department of Global Development, collaborating on cross-cutting research, building professional development opportunities for graduate and undergraduates, and developing curriculum and extension materials for farmers and foresters.

Program History

AI-LEAF (National AI Research Institute for Land, Economy, Agriculture, and Forestry) is one of seven National AI Research Institutes (NAIRIs) announced on May 4, 2023, under the Biden-Harris Responsible AI Initiative. The NAIRIs aim to catalyze collaborative efforts across institutions of higher education, federal agencies, industry, and others to pursue transformative AI advances that are ethical, trustworthy, responsible, and serve the public good. These institutes will also bolster AI R&D infrastructure, support the development of a diverse AI workforce, and drive breakthroughs in critical areas, including climate, agriculture, energy, cybersecurity, and education. At AI-LEAF, we are combining knowledge from agriculture and forestry sciences with unique new methods in artificial intelligence (AI), working to curb the effects of climate change while also lifting rural economies.

We are creating a new scientific discipline and innovation ecosystem, where AI intersects with climate-smart agriculture and forestry. Our researchers are exploring compelling AI-powered knowledge and solutions—including, for example, using AI to enhance the measurement of greenhouse gasses, and creating specialized field-to-market decision support tools.

Multi-Institutional Collaboration

One of our key goals is to improve accounting for carbon in farms and forests, empowering carbon markets and informing decision-making. We are also working to expand and diversify rural and urban AI workforces. AI-LEAF is a joint effort of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (lead), Colorado State University, Cornell University, Delaware State University, North Carolina State University, and Purdue University.

Cornell University brings expertise in greenhouse gas flux estimation, remote sensing, climate modeling, and farmer driven tools, and Extension expertise through the Cornell Climate Smart Farming Program. The Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture (CIDA) and the NSF Computational Sustainability Center bring together many disciplines, and The Soil Factory and Engaged Cornell administered through the Cornell Einhorn Center provide a co-creation platform through interdisciplinary approaches.

Stakeholder Engagement

Incorporating the feedback of agricultural stakeholders working to mitigate and adapt to climate change is imperative to AI-LEAF’s mission. Our team is also working to insure that underrepresented producers, including socially-disadvantaged and limited resource farmers and foresters, are involved at every stage of technological development from ideation to launch. To ensure early involvement of agricultural stakeholders in year one, the AI-LEAF Education and Workforce Development team will coordinate an AI-LEAF Stakeholder Needs Assessment to collect the views, experiences, and challenges and opportunities faced by relevant stakeholders to inform the development of new AI-driven decision support tools and technology. Agricultural stakeholders include farmers, ranchers, foresters, Extension educators/ag advisors, state and federal agency staff, and Climate-Smart Commodity leaders