we hosted the first in a series of Agri knowledge transfer events at ubloquity on 23/11/21, with twenty or so guests in attendance.

the topic of conversation was DATA in farming; we had three speakers give their perspectives on technology, capturing information, and turning data into actionable insights.

flagship farmer John Best kicked things off, talking about the changes he’d witnessed in nearly 50 years of farming experience. John is an arable farmer and manages a herd of Aberdeen Angus with his two sons on land farmed by his family for nearly 100 years. John believes farmers need to shape up and get ready for the future, learning from other sectors like pork and poultry. he abides by the mantra; you can’t manage what you don’t measure. developments in on-farm technology mean he can now track an animal from the RFID tag in its ear through the entire supply chain, proving its provenance.

Kieran Kelly, ubloquity CTO, a butcher by trade, described how data points on-farm are valuable. collecting them in a consistent and verifiable way leads to improvements in best practices, as well as insights that can be shared across the local industry, creating a centre of excellence. he described blockchain and its distributed ledger as a means to create a trusted single source of the truth. Sean Kane is the Agri supply chain coordinator for Whites Oats. Sean expressed his belief that Sustainability is increasing in prominence. Sharing best practices is critical, which requires farmers and entire supply chains to work together. by monitoring what’s working well in the top 10% of farms, you have the opportunity to share that knowledge with the rest.

the audience of farmers, academics, and trade bodies were keen to join the discussion and raised concerns about farmers once again being taken advantage of—this time about carbon credits (A hot topic). caution was urged, a better understanding of how to establish a baseline, and recognition that whatever today’s price of a carbon credit is, like bitcoin, it was likely to increase.

get in touch if you’d like to learn more about data in farming or how ubloquity is helping create digital chains of custody. You can also be added to our upcoming events mailing list.