USDA will use an AI tool to check its Nov. 10 crop report after corn data errors
Officials say the in-house tool would have flagged September's errors; it adds to, rather than replaces, existing validation.
Why it matters
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will use an artificial intelligence tool it built to check data in its Nov. 10 crop production report, officials told Reuters. The move follows a correction of September corn data that raised Nebraska's yield estimate by about 3% and cut Kansas's by about 2%, after a computer file wrongly combined irrigated and non-irrigated acres. Under Secretary Scott Hutchins said the tool would have flagged the problem. The reports often move agricultural markets.
Key facts
- AI tool to check the Nov. 10 crop production report
- Built in-house by USDA
- Follows corrected September corn data
- Nebraska yield estimate up about 3%, Kansas down about 2%
- Cause: a file wrongly combined irrigated and non-irrigated acres
- Tool adds to existing validation rather than replacing it