The Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to have a major impact on the food supply chain – all the way from the farm to the individual buying food from a retail outlet.
Farm to Fork IoT is the way one can link the information about produce from before it is even planted and up until it is about to be used or consumed by the end consumer. Basically, this will mean that the environment and conditions at the time of planting are recorded and placed in a database and all the information about the farm or location is added to the database through the growing life of the produce. So on the day of planting, what was the conditions of the soil, the temperatures, the water content in the soil, etc.
Factors such as TDS, water conditions, temperature, humidity, and so much more are gathered each day and even a few times a day the measurements from the IoT devices on the farm is recorded. All the data throughout the produce’s growing cycle is recorded.
When produce is picked, all the info about the conditions while picking are recorded. The data for this batch (until serialization occurs in the future) is linked and the produce is marked or labelled from the farm to the final outlet of sale. This then allows the outlet to give the consumer the ability to trace back the history of the produce from the time it was planted and grown, up to the time it has been in the store and everything in between.
Informed Decisions can assist in this by means of our technology that builds the smart farm of today. Ultimately monitoring of the six main areas of farming such as soil, machinery, water, weather, chemicals and the crop itself. Using connected sensors, devices, equipment, implements and more to record data as well as automate processes such as irrigation and monitor, report and analyze plant and equipment such as generators, vehicles, etc., we can truly increase yield, reduce waste and drive efficiencies.
We are also able to provide the data and IoT information and connectivity of various points in the lifecycle of the produce. From the “Farm IoT” of when it was planted, through picking and packing, to transportation, logistics and cold-chain, right up until and including when the goods are in the refrigerated display fridge in the store.
As one of the only true ground up IoT solution builders, and incorporating the knowledge and experience of traceability we have done for many years, we are able to link all the data a farmer would be looking for as well as the traceability aspect required by farmers through to retail.
Unfortunately Farm to Fork IoT has not been adopted easily due to the cost of IoT solutions up until now. Things are however changing and IoT with related technologies are becoming a lot more affordable, especially when purchasing from a local company like Informed Decisions who can design, build and deploy the IoT solutions themselves.
Informed Decisions can offer the following farm to fork solutions and services currently:
- Farm – Collect all the data desired using all kinds of sensors and devices possible.
- Picking – Monitor and track conditions at the time of picking and harvesting.
- Packing – The environment conditions and data around the packing of the goods after picking.
- Storage – Fridge monitoring solutions to ensure goods are kept under the best conditions to preserve and keep the produce in its best condition.
- Logistics – Vehicle monitoring as well as cold chain environment of the goods being transported.
- Storage & Distribution – Monitoring of environments and conditions during these phases.
- Display – conditions that the produce is displayed at in retail outlets.
Trends point to having accountability of all aspects of the supply chain, which one can only get if there is great traceability. Visibility of all the environmental and process conditions the produce has gone through from picking to being in the store will allow food waste to reduce and consumers to be more engaged or have visibility in the supply chain.
Locally designed, built and executed, with a proven track record having installed our technology at a number of locations, we have proven our solutions to be reliable and cost-effective. For more information on Informed Decisions offerings visit http://bit.ly/informedec or email sales@informedec.com
