Put IT on the farm

It will orbit the earth at a height of 500km, collecting data for managing natural disasters, environmental issues and agriculture. For agriculture, it is expected to monitor test areas planted, map commercial versus subsistence farming areas for crop identification and forecasting.

It may sound like surprisingly advanced technology to be roped into the age-old work of farming, but Sumbandilasat is just one new-generation technology being employed to make agriculture better, more efficient and more profitable.

In very developed nations, ICTs are being deployed in growing numbers in fields, vineyards and dairies every day, and South African farmers are starting to catch on to the benefits of using ICTs too.

These technologies range from analytics software for crop forecasting, to mobile internet connectivity for market information and trading, to RFID tags to track and monitor livestock. Even heavy agricultural equipment is being equipped with ICTs to help map fields and calculate seed or fertiliser dispersal.

FARMING GETS TECH SAVVY

Herbert Klein, industry lead: Consumer Products at Oracle, says there has been increased global consolidation of production companies amidst the booming demand for animal, vegetable and fruit produce. Global consumption of meat is growing significantly faster than the world`s population and this is leading to an increased demand for animal feed.

Klein says input costs for production and shipping are cyclical and can be extremely volatile over both the long and short term. This makes long-term planning more difficult and involves significantly higher risk if it`s not managed correctly.

"Today, complexity seems to be growing faster and farmers have a definite need to better control and understand the effectiveness of their produce production and maturity dates. With tighter business margins, labour supply problems, and concerns about changing weather patterns, accurate harvest estimating and analysis is necessary for planning if a company aims to improve quality, yet make a profit at the end of each season," he says.

He says reproducible quality is becoming increasingly important for customers and, at the same time, government agencies around the world now require that food be tracked throughout the supply chain because of food safety and terrorism concerns.

"All these issues can only be managed and resolved by using an enterprise software approach," he says.

GETTING THE BIG PICTURE

Kroshlen Moodley, business development manager - Public Sector division at SAS, says analytics can be used in today`s modern farming methods to analyse agricultural data and provide a view of which farming methods are succeeding, what government programmes are showing returns, which crops are destined to yield the most and what impact natural elements such as weather and population growth might be having on farming in general.

He says: "A large farming consortium in the US is currently using SAS`s analytics capabilities to assist it with meeting Food and Drug Administration  requirements around genetic engineering within the agricultural sector.  As an example for certain trials, computers are placed at farms for data entry. Milk weights and other data are then entered into a database and SAS distributes reports immediately to biologists, who monitor the studies. Instant access to data helps scientists detect and fix any unusual data quality issues as soon as they arise.

"In Australia vineyards are using SAS to determine why Shiraz grapes lose up to 20 percent of their water content at the end of the growing season.  The data is used to improve the existing farming methods, and in turn improve the size of the harvest."

Within the agricultural supply chain analytics can be used to better gauge when crops will be harvested, and in turn map out a strategic plan for the harvest.  It can be used for booking third party suppliers who will aid with the harvest, ensuring there is enough labour to assist, and even offer a view of which suppliers were in previous years the most efficient and cost effective.

Analytics have also proved to be a valuable tool for dairy farmers who are able to apply the use of these tools to work out the steps involved in the process from cow to milk carton.  These farmers can analyse which times of the year are their most profitable and their busiest, they can even determine if there will be a dip in milk production due to drought, excessive calving, or a lack of feed from other agricultural sources.

"From the government`s perspective, the agricultural department can use analytics to determine the number of farmers, the success of their farms, the annual agricultural return from investment into developmental farms, the expected crop yields in areas and the averages associated to export and local consumption.  Taking this further, analytics can even provide a view of whether or not a drought may require the importing of certain foods."

"Analytical tools can also be used to determine available farming land, how much of the land is being farmed and whether land is being laid fallow that should be used for active agriculture.  This can then help with farmland distribution campaigns, which the success of can itself be measured at a granular level, by mapping the returns (crops, meat products, dairy etc.) these farms are expected to yield versus what they are providing."

ANALYTICS FOR SMALLER FARMS

Moodley says that while large scale farms and agricultural co-ops are always going to benefit vastly from technology tools such as analytics, this doesn`t mean smaller farms can`t use these tools too.  "Smaller farms which collect data can purchase tools that will help them analyse their data.  An analytical system need not be part of a large scale ERP or business suite, if the data exists then there are the tools out there to analyse it."

He notes: "In South Africa, we do, however, face the challenge that many of the smaller farms are not able to afford the modern farming methods used in many first world countries.  Which is where government is trying to play a part in helping these farmers by collecting data and analysing it on their behalf.  While this might not help with their direct supply chain needs, it can assist in determining crop patterns or yield as an example." Moodley says SAS is currently working with the Department of Agriculture on a number of levels.

Moodley says: "While the use of technology is definitely permeating the local farming industry - there is so much more that can be done.  Many of the large combine harvesters, tractors and other farming equipment come bundled with software that feeds information into a centralised system that can tell how many seeds were planted, what the expected yield should be, add this to the last annual rainfall, and then predict the potential yield of a harvest based on a model created using analytics."

CARING FOR CATTLE

When an average dairy cow costs around R8 000, it pays farmers to take good care of them. Several IT packages are now available to help dairy farmers better care for their herds and manage milking and distribution.

A system developed by local company Milkfriend allows farmers to use technology to track and monitor every cow in their dairy herd, from the state of the animal`s health, to the quality of its milk. Milkfriend spokesman Etienne Cox says over 40 dairy farms are using the Milkfriend system in SA, with the system also in use on two farms in New Zealand.

Cox says the Milkfriend system was developed by ETC Electronic Systems. The first small system was developed in 1995, and the first feeding system was installed in 2002 in the Eastern Cape. "Since then a lot has changed and Milkfriend has evolved into a complete dairy management system. This includes cow information and parlour management."

He says  the Milkfriend system uses RFID tags to automatically identify each cow as it walks into the milking parlour. As she is milked, her temperature is taken automatically and the quality of milk is assessed. If it does not meet the standards required, an alarm is activated and the cow is immediately drafted from the rest of the herd. Each cow is also weighed automatically as she exits the milking parlour. Cox says this information allows farmers to ensure that every cow receives the correct amount of feed according to individual needs, as well as allowing for early identification of illness and ensuring that milk quality standards are maintained.

As for ROI, Cox says: "The rule of thumb is that farmers will repay the feeding system in nine months. The ROI of milk meters are more difficult to calculate for it differs from farm to farm. The main areas where farms get their ROI on milk meters are knowing which cows to cull; saving cows by detecting illness early, and managing mastitis in cows."

FROM FARM TO FACTORY

ICTs really come into their own as a means of tracking produce "from farm to fork". Several local winemakers have been using RFID tagging to track their products for years, while major dairy and produce manufacturers use computerised systems to track produce arriving at their facilities, assess the quality of the produce and manage production and distribution from the facilities.

After 10 years of using a manual process, dairy manufacturer Dairy Connection, part of the Fair Cape Group, is now in the process of implementing a mobile solution built on IBM hardware as well as an ERP system called M-ERP, to computerise its processes.

Dairy Connections says it is already seeing improvements in stock control and monitoring through the implementation. Werner Matthee, Fair Cape Group group financial manager, says the company needed to implement M-ERP because it required complete traceability and accountability from the time the goods arrived at the factory door up to the point the money for those goods is banked.

The company also needed real-time information and to measure profitability reliably at every cost point.

CONSOLIDATING OPERATIONS

Softline Accpac and master business partner ATS Mirlem are implementing Accpac solutions for KLK, an agriculture company in the Northern Cape, as part of consolidating operations between its 23 branches and other diverse business interests.

André Matthysen, MD of ATS Mirlem, says: "The biggest area of concern is that its 23 branches are located in remote areas where communication poses challenges. This brought the company into the market for a point- of-sale solution that could run off-line but update the head office system, on a daily basis. Keith Fenner, vice-president: Strategic Sales, Softline Accpac, noted the value of BI cannot be underestimated today. "This applies as much to agriculture as to any other industry."

TAKING IT TO THE FARM

It seems many major local farmers are already seeing the benefits of ICTs in action, but smaller farms may yet have to make the move to the 21st century. But as hardware and software solutions designed to improve agriculture become more affordable and mainstream, we can expect to see most farms implementing some form of ICT in their management in years to come.

Klein says: "One only has to look at the fertiliser and fuel price increases over the last two years, which had a major impact on what a company needs to produce to remain profitable. This is now an industry where companies which hedge or contract incorrectly can lose money very easily. Additionally, the business of agriculture has become more complex with greater regulations, government oversight, and increased demands across the supply chain from buyer to consumer," he concludes.