Name: The Algorithm in the Room: Generative AI and Farm Viability Roundtable
Start: 2026-09-24T10:00:00-0600
End: 2026-09-24T11:30:00-0600

The Algorithm in the Room: Generative AI and Farm Viability Roundtable

Thursday September 24, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MDT

Potters

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude have rapidly moved from novelty to fixture in many industries — and agriculture is no exception.
Farmers are arriving at advisor meetings having already used AI to generate business plans, brainstorm decisions, answer production questions, and draft marketing materials. Meanwhile, farmer-facing technologies are integrating AI features that blur the line between traditional software and generative AI. Most of us have been navigating this in real time, without much chance to step back. This roundtable is an opportunity to pause, compare notes, and share what we are seeing on the ground.
We will open with a brief grounding presentation to query group experience and establish shared language, followed by a facilitated peer discussion structured in two parts:

Farmer & TA Interactions: Where is generative AI proving useful? Where has its use been surprising, innovative, or concerning? How accessible are these tools across different farming communities?
Service Provider Ethics & Realities: How are we using AI in our own work? How do we handle an AI-generated business plan we know is unreliable? How do our personal feelings and inherited model biases impact our reactions?

Rather than debating AI's merits in the abstract, we will ground this segment in practitioner ethics and real-time decisions. Our goal is to surface what we are collectively learning — and to leave with a clearer sense of how peers across the country are navigating these tools in farm viability work.

Speakers

Stevie Schafenacker

Principal, Independent Advisor

Stevie Schafenacker is an independent farm advisor who has worked with New England farmers for the past 10 years. She has provided business planning, financial literacy, and strategic decision-making assistance to more than 90 individual farm and food clients since charting her own... Read More →

Jesse Wright

Agricultural Business Management Field Specialist, UNH Cooperative Extension

Jesse Wright is an Agricultural Business Management Field Specialist at UNH Cooperative Extension. In this role, she works with farmers throughout the state to build strong business skills and develop supportive networks. Her education and technical assistance center on marketing... Read More →

Thursday September 24, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am MDT
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Business Planning and Development, Program Design Development Management and Funding

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National Farm Viability Conference

Stevie Schafenacker

Jesse Wright

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National Farm Viability Conference

Stevie Schafenacker

Jesse Wright

Attendees (10)

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