CHINA Agricultural University (CAU) launched Shennong Large Model 3.0 on Monday at the 2025 World Agrifood Innovation Conference in Beijing, signaling a major step toward making AI more accessible and practical for use in agriculture. According to Wang Yaojun, lead researcher at CAU, a key achievement is that this new model not only reduces computational demands substantially but also boosts performance by 5% compared to the original version. He added that the model’s architecture had been comprehensively redesigned to strike an optimal balance between being lightweight and delivering high performance. This latest release builds upon critical groundwork laid by earlier versions. Shennong 1.0 established core agricultural knowledge and question-answering capabilities, while Shennong 2.0 introduced multimodal functions and expanded the model’s applications across the agricultural sector. Alongside the large model, the team also released an agent platform. This platform fosters a lightweight, deployable and collaborative AI ecosystem that covers the entire agricultural chain, offering 36 specialized agents organized into six categories including smart breeding, planting and farming. “These agents are designed for 36 distinct agricultural scenarios and can be integrated with agricultural machinery and sensors to enhance intelligent agricultural production,” Wang said. He noted that pilot programs have already been deployed in several areas surrounding Beijing, as well as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang Province, providing localized services such as plant protection and customized guidance throughout the cultivation process. (Xinhua) | 