Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Land O’Lakes, Microsoft Seal Multiyear Alliance to Launch ‘Oz’ AI Assistant for U.S. Agriculture

The tool uses Land O’Lakes’ structured archive on Azure to give agronomists trusted, field-specific recommendations.

Overview

  • Announced Nov. 12, the alliance formalizes a push to co-develop AI tools for farming, starting with Oz built on Azure AI Foundry.
  • Oz is in beta with retailers across the country, with broader availability planned later in 2025.
  • The mobile app replaces an 800-page agronomy reference with on-demand guidance on planting decisions, timing, weather, pests, and input choices.
  • Land O’Lakes contributes 20 years of standardized agronomic data to cut noise and increase confidence versus general internet-trained models.
  • Microsoft and Land O’Lakes position Oz as a copilot to help rein in costs and protect yields as farms face high input prices, weak crop markets, and labor shortages, while Land O’Lakes vets outputs to prevent hallucinations.