135. CCAs or LLMs?

Will LLMs replace CCAs?

There has been significant talk about Large Language Models (LLMs) like Bard and ChatGPT recently. 

My friend Shane Thomas did a fantastic primer on the implications of Large Language Models like ChatGP within agriculture.

In today’s edition, I want to briefly explore them in the context of a trend towards automation and advances in technology in general. 

Note: CCA stands for Certified Crop Advisor in North America.

I.

Farmers often use the services of an agronomist or many times someone who is certified to provide them with agronomic advice. It is called a CCA (Certfied Crop Advisor) in North America.

The CCA certification was established in 1992 to provide a benchmark for practicing agronomy professionals in the United States and Canada.

To quality as a CPAg or CCA, one must have the following:

• B.S. degree which includes a minimum of 6 to 9 hours in each of the professional core categories; crop management, pest management/crop protection, and soil science. (Here are the requirements for a…