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Smart action in agriculture:
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Protecting crop and livestock safety by Matthew Margetts, Director, Smarter Technologies, UK
ince the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our food supply has come under consumer scrutiny. The limitations of our food systems are multi-faceted. On the one hand, the World Food Programme has warned that some 130 million people could face food insecurity by the end of the year. Following COVID restrictions, it has been reported that purchasing decisions are increasingly driven by sustainability, as well as food transparency, local sourcing and nutrition and consumer interest around a green economy have been accelerated. From farms to food markets, traceability, safe farming practices and a concentrated effort to incorporate forward-thinking green transformation are more important than ever. On the other hand, against the backdrop of a global health emergency, food safety is equally important. Around one million people in the UK suffer from a foodborne illness every year. In anticipation of Brexit, the National Audit Office voiced concerns about the UK’s food safety systems last year. It issued recommendations around ways to maintain high standards of food hygiene to ensure consumer confidence. Food safety regulations are far from stagnant. For instance, pre-packed for direct sale foods will face more rigorous allergen labelling requirements as of October 2021. While these labelling obligations may place an additional burden on businesses, the statutory shift aims to prevent avoidable allergy-related deaths. With growing consumer interest around food safety and sustainability, it is fair to expect the UK government to continue regulating the industry with this in mind.
Smarter sustainable farming
The food concerns following the COVID-19 pandemic have seen calls for healthy, sustainably produced food at affordable prices. This growth in consumer interest needs to be balanced with affordability and cost. At a farm level, this has furthered the need for smart, precision farming methods, which have the potential to increase yields, reduce overheads and provide early disease detection. Smart technologies give farmers the rare ability to monitor their farming operations on a granular level, no matter where they are, counteracting the traditional challenges of remoteness and the labour intensiveness of manual checks. This dynamic view is powered by a system of tags and sensors, transmitting data over secure data networks for cloud-based reporting and real-time, actionable alerts. Enhanced farm security means enhanced profitability, a key component in keeping food affordable. These technologies can 58 | December 2020 - Milling and Grain
report on everything from perimeter breaches to movement of assets and altered storage tank levels. These detailed data insights have the power to inform farmwide sustainable strategies. What can be monitored can be more effectively managed. Farmers are using smart technologies to implement water-saving irrigation practices, as well as monitor things like humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, plant growth, pesticide use, disease and a range of other metrics. Being able to adjust to these insights, and react to undesirable conditions, give farmers the unique ability to preserve resources, save space and enhance their yields. Similarly, ingestible and wearable smart solutions for livestock mitigate risk around disease and streamline breeding and general herd management. Being able to react immediately to high temperatures in livestock means disease containment is more easily achieved and individual animals can be given the attention they need to prevent mortalities and maximise numbers for breeding. Ingestible technologies make this possible – no matter how dispersed herds may be. GPS cattle collars empower real-time monitoring, tracking, and (in the event of stock theft) more effective recovery.
Get smarter about food safety
Smart technologies can be implemented to inform elevated food safety levels across all stages of food processing and packaging. These easily integrated pressure pads, tags and sensors are costeffective enough to be implemented throughout the supply chain for improved traceability and to meet food safety and compliance requirements with the highest standards of reporting. Food storage and packaging is simplified, with storage temperature and humidity being monitored in real-time, with the automated generation of HACCP-compliant temperature logs. This makes for more effective equipment management, avoids cross-contamination and achieves reduced food waste, which has dire long-term environmental consequences.
Real-time data insights
The demand for safe, sustainable food is growing. With safety of paramount importance, farmers and food suppliers need to exercise and exhibit real vigilance, which is accelerating the implementation of smart and precision methods. Smart agricultural and food and beverage solutions make this easy. Designed to be accessible and affordable, the real-time data insights from these powerful solutions mean practices can be analysed, adapted, and acted upon, achieving demonstrable moves towards sustainability and safety. www.smartertechnologies.co.uk