Six farming decisions AI should never make for you

AI tools are genuinely useful for Irish farmers. We've written about using them for business plans, grant applications, scheme paperwork, and admin. They save time. They're getting better.

But there's a line — and knowing where it is matters more than knowing how to write a prompt.

Some topics are too important, too specific, or too consequential to trust to a tool that sometimes makes things up. Here's the list.

1. Veterinary diagnosis and dosing rates

Never use AI to diagnose animal illness or calculate drug doses.

ChatGPT will happily tell you what might be wrong with a calf that's scouring, and it'll suggest treatment protocols. Some of the information will be correct. Some of it won't be. And you won't know which is which until it's too late.

Dosing rates depend on the animal's weight, age, condition, and the specific product you're using. AI doesn't know which product is on your shelf, whether it's in date, or what the withdrawal period is for your market.

What AI can do: Help you prepare notes for your vet visit. Write down symptoms, timelines, and questions to ask. Your vet will cover more ground if you arrive prepared.

Who to trust instead: Your vet. Every time.

2. Specific scheme eligibility and payment amounts

Never rely on AI for whether you qualify for a scheme or how much you'll get paid.

AI regularly invents eligibility criteria, cites outdated payment rates, and confuses Irish schemes with UK ones. It once told a tester that ACRES Cooperation was open to all farmers when in fact it's by invitation only in priority areas.

Payment rates change annually. Eligibility rules have conditions the AI doesn't know about — your stocking rate, your land classification, whether you've had compliance issues.

What AI can do: Give you a starting list of schemes to investigate. Help you draft application text. Explain what a scheme does in plain English.

Who to trust instead: DAFM circulars on gov.ie. Your Teagasc advisor. The scheme terms and conditions document itself.

3. Legal advice on land, planning, or succession

Never use AI for legal decisions about your farm.

Land law in Ireland is complex. Succession planning involves tax, fair deal scheme implications, family arrangements, and long-term planning that AI cannot properly assess. Planning permission requirements vary by local authority.

AI might give you a general overview that sounds reasonable. But "reasonable" and "legally correct for your specific situation" are very different things.

What AI can do: Help you draft a list of questions to bring to your solicitor. Summarise a planning document in plain English. Explain what a legal term means.

Who to trust instead: A solicitor with agricultural experience. Your accountant for tax aspects of succession.

4. Chemical application rates and mixing

Never use AI to calculate spray rates, fertiliser application rates, or chemical mixing instructions.

The label on the product is the legal document. It specifies the rate per hectare, the buffer zones, the maximum applications per season, and the PPE required. AI might give you a number that looks right but doesn't account for the specific formulation you're using.

Getting this wrong has consequences: crop damage, environmental contamination, food safety violations, and cross-compliance penalties.

What AI can do: Help you understand what the label says in simpler language. Explain what a specific active ingredient does.

Who to trust instead: The product label. Your agronomist. The PCS (Pesticide Control Service) guidelines.

5. Tax calculations and returns

Never use AI to calculate your tax liability or prepare your returns.

Farm taxation in Ireland involves income averaging, stock relief, capital allowances, stamp duty reliefs, young trained farmer reliefs, and VAT rules specific to agriculture. AI doesn't know your personal circumstances, your historical claims, or the current Revenue interpretation of any of these.

An AI-generated tax estimate might be out by thousands of euro. And Revenue won't accept "ChatGPT told me" as an excuse.

What AI can do: Help you organise your records before meeting your accountant. Explain what stock relief or income averaging means in plain English. Draft a list of expenses to claim.

Who to trust instead: Your accountant or tax advisor. Revenue.ie for official guidance.

6. Animal welfare decisions

Never use AI to decide whether an animal needs emergency intervention.

If a cow is in difficulty calving, a lamb is hypothermic, or an animal is showing signs of distress, call your vet. Don't type symptoms into ChatGPT while an animal is suffering.

AI can't see the animal. It can't assess the urgency. It can't make the call that saves a life.

What AI can do: After the event, help you record what happened for your farm diary or insurance claim.

Who to trust instead: Your vet. Your own experience. Your neighbour if the vet is 40 minutes away and you need hands now.

The "prep not prescribe" rule

Here's the simplest way to think about it:

Use AI to prepare. Prepare for a bank meeting. Prepare for a vet visit. Prepare your paperwork. Prepare questions for your solicitor.

Never use AI to prescribe. Don't let it prescribe a dose, prescribe a legal strategy, prescribe a tax position, or prescribe a treatment plan.

Preparation is low-risk, high-reward. Prescription is high-risk, and the AI doesn't carry the consequences — you do.

Where AI is genuinely safe and useful

To be clear — AI is excellent at:

• Drafting letters, documents, and business plans
• Summarising long reports and policies
• Explaining complex topics in plain English
• Brainstorming ideas and options
• Preparing admin and compliance paperwork
• Comparing products, tools, and services (at a general level)

The line is between writing and deciding. AI writes well. It decides badly. Keep that distinction, and you'll get a lot of value from it without the risk.