AGRI-BUSINESSES URGED TO TAKE UP MORE TECHNOLOGY www.foodtechnology.co.nz 3 Kathryn Calvert Editor NZ FOODTechnology Graeme Muller NZTech chief executive Congratulations must be extended to Dr Helen Darling and her team at the Asia Pacific Centre for Food Integrity for the conference they organised recently that brought food claims lawyer Bill Marler to New Zealand from the United States. During his address at the event, you could have heard a pin drop, and the tales Marler told of victims of food poisoning he has represented in law suits made the hair on your neck stand up. His story of his most famous young client (from page 14) will no doubt have the same effect on you, and his belief that food manufacturing is indeed a risky business is illustrated effectively by Brianne Kiner's experience. "We are living in a world so connected that we can’t bury our heads in the sand and say ‘this will never happen to me in New Zealand” Marler says. If you are a food manufacturer and your food hurts or kills someone, the game’s over. “It doesn’t matter if you are a good company. You are at fault. Period.” On a lighter note, check out a vegan’s reaction to a meat movie, have a laugh with Leigh Hart and his Wakachangi beer, and see the story of 120-year-old T&G Global (formerly Turners and Growers). Have a great July. EDITOR'S NOTE BREAKING NEWS Agri-business has one of the best opportunities to make the most of the ‘internet of things’ for economic advantage in New Zealand, and the industry is being urged to grab the chance. NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says a new research study identifies agri-business – as a critical industry producing 40% of the country’s merchandise exports – is a key factor in the economic wellbeing of New Zealand, but must increase its use of technology to lift productivity. While New Zealand’s agricultural productivity growth is still ahead of the world average of 1.7% a year, it has remained relatively low at 2.5% between 2008 and 2015. “Given the scale of the estimated productivity gains across the agri-sector through better use of IoT, farmers, farm suppliers, the tech industry and Government should resolve to accelerate its uptake,” he says. “While farmers are starting to use technology, including IoT, to increase productivity and reduce costs in the face of increased competition and compliance requirements, the uptake of IoT in agriculture is relatively low across the sector as a whole. There is no dispute that using IoT systems to augment the intuition of the farmer will have a huge impact in terms of improving productivity on the farm and improving its environmental and sustainability performance. There is the ability to grow more while using less in a way that the community will find more acceptable. For fruit and wine growers, frost conditions can decimate acres of fruit blossom in a single cold night. To mitigate the risk of loss, IoT solutions can predict and manage frost conditions. Farmers and growers are value purchasers. Cost is less of an issue if the value is obvious. For example, a farmer might struggle to see the value in a $20 a month phone upgrade, but have no qualms buying a $130,000 tractor. Farmers seek decision support for farming and automation for compliance. As technology makes its way onto the fields in the future, more farm management will be done from a desk or device instead of in the field. New Zealand pack houses, such as A. S. Wilcox and Sons, are involved in the entire supply chain of fresh vegetables including growing, picking, processing, packing and transporting. Technology has become an integral part of their success. The Wilcox pack house uses technology to integrate operations from the field to the customer and to ensure the best product is put in the best place. Instead of people, they can send drones to check crops for quality and growth. Sensors on machinery report how much harvesters are gathering.” Embracing IoT technology may be a big cultural shift for some in the farming community, yet the potential benefits are enormous, with an estimated $448 million in net benefit to New Zealand over the next 10 years from better use of IoT for water management on dairy farms alone, Muller says. “Industry needs to build its credibility within farming to encourage investment in technology. While a startup company may have a good IoT product, if it has no credibility with the farming community, it will struggle to sell. Meanwhile, the extended time frame to create credibility can simply be too long.” The research study was commissioned by the New Zealand IoT Alliance, an independent member funded group of tech firms, major corporates, startups, universities and government agencies. A RISKY BUSINESS
FT-Jul17-eMag-1
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