Whitepaper - The impact of data-driven growing (part 2)

April 1, 2020

In today’s conditions, growing crops can be likened to performing sport at elite level. Green fingers and a passion for growing no longer guarantee good operating results. The goalposts are constantly being shifted. Stringent environmental regulations and legislation, excessive demands placed by customers, fierce competition and small margins force growers to maximise the potential of their crops efficiently and sustainably. At the same time, the continuing trend of upscaling, the tight labour market (smaller pool of available labour) and dwindling numbers of experienced crop managers (vanishing expertise) are all obstacles along the path of achieving business continuity and success. Not just today, but also tomorrow and in the years ahead.

Realtime monitoring
Technological innovation is increasingly part of the solution to that complex puzzle. A growing arsenal of measuring units, cameras and other sensors allows us to monitor what is happening in and around the plant, in the parts visible above the growing media and in the root zone environment, more accurately and real-time. This facilitates extremely accurate crop steering and avoids suboptimal performance. But, until recently, what was lacking was an instrument able to analyse the correlation between all these multiple data flows, compute calculation models and translate this into advice and recommendations for objective, concrete control measures.

Download the whitepaper
In this whitepaper respected researchers, innovation experts and the people at Grodan involved in these developments outline their view of the past, present and future of data-driven growing. They explain the road map ahead for high tech horticulture and the compelling reasons to follow that road. Grodan’s management and team hope that their reflections, vision and insights will contribute to a better understanding and inspire you to push boundaries together. Enjoy the read! Download the whitepaper on the right side of the page.