{"id":13799,"date":"2021-12-14T14:04:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T20:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futurefarmer1.wpengine.com\/?p=13799"},"modified":"2021-12-14T14:04:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-14T20:04:01","slug":"the-ag-industry-supply-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futurefarmermag.com\/the-ag-industry-supply-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ag Industry Supply Chain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you read about Genesis Feed Technologies project \u201cSeed to Feed\u201d in a past issue of Future Farmer, you know that a large part of this project is to explore possibilities for transforming the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what we haven\u2019t talked about yet is\u2026 why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spoke with Seed to Feed partners AgriDigital and AgLaunch about why they are focusing on transforming the supply chain. One of the main challenges, they agreed, is a lack of clear communication between all the players along the supply chain<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe challenge is that on farms, integrated systems aren\u2019t talking to each other,\u201d Connie Bowen, AgLaunch Director of Innovation and Investment, said. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a common language.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flaws in the supply chain were made abundantly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistical constraints and lack of communication resulted in farmers dumping unsellable milk\u2014up to 3.7 million gallons a day according to Dairy Farmers of America\u2014 plowing vegetables, and burying perishable produce. At the same time, food shops ran out of stock and were forced to raise prices for expensive perishables such as eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of this could be solved by a more uniform communication system, Bowen said. Right now, for instance, some farm equipment companies don\u2019t automatically integrate with climate. If the players and platforms along the supply chain could be more integrated, data could be more easily shared. This is referred to as data interoperability<\/strong>\u2014the ability of systems and services that create, exchange and consume data to have clear, shared expectations for the contents, context and meaning of that data. And this is what many agree is missing from ag industry supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cData interoperability remains a massive challenge in agtech,\u201d Bowen said. \u201cAnd while this problem is technically solvable, conflicting incentives throughout the supply chain make it difficult for a private technology company to integrate systems across many farms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AgriDigital Head of Region for North America Katrina Stanislaw shared her agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt present, if you look at the supply chain’s big picture, they are opaque and complex,\u201d Stanislaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result is that value is lost for the farmer, Stanislaw said. In fact, a recent study showed that while many farmers don\u2019t get very much of the food dollar, farmers in special product produce get 26% of food dollars. If farmers are able to track better data on their specific products through identity preservation,<\/strong> consumers may be willing to pay more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone on the supply chain wants to see the consumer pay more,\u201d Bowen said. Right now, however, the way data is managed and aggregated in the supply chain keeps identity preservation from happening. This results in some farmers doing more work and producing a better product, yet seeing the same value as other farms producing a lower quality product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data interoperability and identity preservation remain two major areas of growth for the supply chain. So, what are we doing about it? Bowen and Stanislaw pose some solutions, some of which are actively being tested in the Seed to Feed campaign.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One-shared communication platform + Blockchain.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way that agtech leaders are hoping to solve the data interoperability problem is through creating shared platforms where farmers can track\u2026well, everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, AgriDigital recently launched their solution to data interoperability with a platform called Waypath. Waypath is a secure digital platform for managing everything from deliveries to invoices. The platform combines physical inventory management and workflows, supply chain data, and commodity backed inventory finance. It utilizes blockchain technology through their partnership with Geora (also a Seed to Feed partner.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe average farmer has 40 harvests over the course of their career,\u201d Stanislaw said. \u201cThat\u2019s 40 shots to get it right. And right now, it\u2019s typical for farmers to manage these complex operations with pen and paper, and Excel spreadsheets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to AgriDigital and Stanislaw\u2014there is a better way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWaypath is the tool to manage that harvest. It\u2019s a way farmers can be sure they know exactly what\u2019s going on with each harvest, where their grain goes, and the grain inventory they have on hand all year long,\u201d Stanislaw said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s part of AgriDigital\u2019s mission as a whole to transform the supply chain and put more value (and cash) back into the hands of farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is provide tools for farmers to take advantage of new opportunities and be competitive in them,\u201d Stanislaw said. \u201cWe\u2019re automating and connecting inventories\u2014tracking and tracing what is grown to the end seller. This is essential to get more margin back to the farmer, and build sustainable supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n