AI is changing how we work, and farming is no exception.
Tools like ChatGPT and Claude can help you write, research, analyse information, brainstorm ideas and build things that might have previously felt out of reach.
For farmers, that opens up some pretty exciting possibilities.
Need a quick calculator for something specific to your operation? Want to turn a messy set of notes into a checklist? Trying to make sense of a spreadsheet? AI can help you get there in seconds.
We use AI at Mobble too, but there is a line between using AI as a tool, and relying on AI-built tools to run your farm.
Knowing where that line sits is important.
One of the most exciting things about AI is that you don't need to be a software developer to build something useful.
You can describe what you need and AI can help you create a calculator, spreadsheet, workflow or little tool to solve a very specific problem.
Maybe you want to calculate feed requirements.
Maybe you need to convert some measurements.
Maybe you want to organise a year's worth of notes or create a simple tool for a one-off job.
These are great uses for AI. If it saves you half an hour or makes a fiddly job easier, that's a win. We use AI in much the same way at Mobble. It's another tool in the toolbox. The important thing is understanding what you're building and what you're relying on it for.
While AI can be incredibly useful, it isn't perfect. Sometimes, AI tools will confidently give you information that is completely wrong - a phenomenon known as a "hallucination".
If you are using AI to draft an email or summarise notes, a “hallucination” might just be a minor typo. But if you are asking an AI to calculate chemical application rates, medication dosages for livestock, or specific feed requirements, an error can be costly.
Treat AI like a very enthusiastic farmhand on their first job: they can get a lot done quickly, but you still need to review their work before signing off on it.
When you type information into public tools like the free versions of ChatGPT or Claude, that data might be used by those companies to train future versions of their software.
For most day-to-day queries, this isn't an issue. However, you should avoid pasting sensitive business information into free AI chatbots. Keep your private financial data, proprietary business secrets, and sensitive employee details out of your prompts. For core data storage, stick to secure, purpose-built farm management software.
You should be aware of where your data is going by understanding the provider's terms, and don't give sensitive farm/business information to an AI service unless you're comfortable with how it will be stored and used.
AI can make it surprisingly easy to build a “working app”.
That's fantastic for experimentation. But getting something to work once is very different from building software that needs to work reliably every day, year after year.
This is where purpose-built farm software has an important role to play.
Your farm records aren't just another spreadsheet or app. They're the history of your business, covering:
That information needs to be there when you need it, whether you're sitting at the kitchen table or standing in a paddock with no reception.
It also needs to be protected when phones are replaced, staff change and technology moves on.
Farm software has to account for all of that. It needs to work offline when reception is patchy, keep your data backed up and safe, stay secure and continue working as phones and operating systems are updated.
That's what Mobble is built for.
Our focus is taking that technical burden off your plate, with offline access, secure storage, backups, ongoing improvements and support when you need it.
The goal is simple: your farm records should keep working, even when everything around them changes.
The future isn't necessarily about choosing between AI and farm management software.
It's about using both for what they're good at.
Your farm management software can provide the reliable, structured data and infrastructure that your farm depends on.
AI can then help you get more from that information.
Imagine having years of organised farm records and being able to use AI to help spot trends, summarise information or answer questions about your own data.
That's a much more useful proposition.
The better your underlying records, the more useful the tools built around them can become.
So, give AI a crack. Use it for the small, unique jobs where it can save you time and help you work smarter.
But when it comes to the records your business relies on every day, leave the heavy lifting to software that's built to handle it.
Looking for software that's built to handle the heavy lifting? Explore Mobble’s features here.