Marvin Okafor has not left software engineering, and he has not started a farm. He is still using AI in his work while exploring a second possibility: growing food. His essay, “I Use AI Every Day. I’m Also Googling Crop Rotation,” is less a career announcement than a reflection on what to build when code is getting cheaper—and what practical work might still feel connected to human needs.
AI has changed the work, but not removed the engineer
Okafor describes himself as a software engineer with a little over eight years in the field. He says he has used AI daily for roughly the last year and a half, and that it has made him faster while taking on some coding work he once considered central to his identity.
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That change leaves room for both gratitude and unease. He is still working in software and still learning; he is not claiming that engineering has become pointless or that AI can take responsibility for every decision. His questions are personal: “how do I stay employable?” and “what can I build that still needs a human when the code is cheap?”
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Okafor’s answer is not a declared career pivot. He is exploring farming as a possible complementary outlet for his entrepreneurial energy, thinking about land, crops, fish, cocoa, and food production. As he put it, “People have to eat.” He has begun learning practical basics such as soil, seasons, and crop rotation—but says plainly that he does not yet have the farm.
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That distinction matters. The essay is about considering another kind of work, not reporting on an operating agricultural business or arguing that farming is a guaranteed refuge from automation. Its appeal lies in the contrast: software work mediated by AI on one side, and physical production tied to land and food on the other.
What crop rotation means in practice
For a gardener, crop rotation means changing which crops grow in a given bed over time rather than planting the same crop family there season after season. University of Minnesota Extension explains that rotations are usually planned by plant family because related plants can share vulnerabilities to pests and diseases. Moving families can reduce the buildup of disease-causing pathogens by removing their food source, help prevent nutrient depletion, and make use of crops’ different rooting patterns.
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Legumes such as beans and peas can contribute nitrogen through their relationship with rhizobia, but that does not make them a universal fix for soil fertility. A useful rotation depends on what is being grown and the conditions of the site.
Questions that shape a rotation plan
- Plant family: Which crops are related, and could they share pest or disease problems?
- Soil and nutrients: What are the soil’s fertility and structure, and how do the crops differ in nutrient demand or contribution?
- Local conditions: What are the moisture conditions and growing season, and which diseases, insects, and weeds are common?
- Practical timing: Can the sequence fit available labor and the economics of the operation?
These are planning considerations, not a ready-made schedule for Okafor. The University of Minnesota Extension material is regional guidance; growers elsewhere should use advice suited to their climate, crops, and whether they are gardening or farming commercially.
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AI may assist agricultural decisions, with context and people still involved
AI is not confined to software. A Microsoft Signal feature about Land O’Lakes’ Oz agronomy copilot describes a tool that asks follow-up questions about a farmer’s location, crop rotation, nutrient levels, and conditions before offering advice. The feature also describes an emphasis on accuracy and keeping knowledgeable people involved. Jennifer Anderson of Microsoft said, “What we learned was that we had to slow down and prioritize accuracy over speed, because those relationships are so important.”
That company-reported example illustrates the kind of contextual information an agricultural tool may consider; it is not an independent performance trial and does not show that AI replaces agronomists. In both software and agriculture, the useful question is not simply whether AI can produce an answer, but whether the answer fits the real circumstances and who is responsible for acting on it.
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A personal experiment, not a forecast for every engineer
Okafor’s essay holds two ideas together: AI can make his current work faster, and he can still be curious about work rooted in tangible needs. He has not announced an exit from software or promised that farming will protect anyone from technological change. For now, he is researching a possibility—and Googling a term that turns out to lead into a much larger set of questions about soil, pests, seasons, and planning.
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