This customer showcases blog highlights Taggares Fruit Company’s adoption of Croptracker’s Harvest: Pre-Print and Scan. Taggares is headed into their second season recording their harvest inventory with Croptracker and we spoke with Taggares’ Systems Manager, Logan Janin about the benefits they have already gained from their first year of Croptracker.

Croptracker software updates and fixes from the second half of August include expansions of new reports and some new crop type additions to support new customers. Read on to learn more and get in touch with us at support@croptracker.com for more information.

Happy holidays!  Today we look back on an exciting 2018 and explore what users can look forward to in 2019!

As the need to verify production practices has increased, so has the need to log employee work activity. Croptracker’s Punch Clock module is designed specifically for the ag industry, which means having features that allow for flexible and relevant documentation of who accomplishes what tasks, and exactly where on the farm they do so.

Though the foundational components of plant life are understood, much of what happens below the soil remains obscure. Cornell University has initiated the development of a project to connect more dots regarding how roots engage with soil, by creating a wormlike robotic tool. Aiming to explore root interactions with soil, the robot concept offers great potential for plant growth data collection in a new way.

This piece is a part of our ongoing agtech feature series, highlighting bright innovations impacting the agricultural sector.

Sales of service-oriented robotics have been steadily growing in recent years, and unsurprisingly the adoption rate of robotics for agriculture is getting an extra boost due to new labor risks associated with the ongoing pandemic. Fieldworks Robotics is certainly one to watch for in the coming years, with multiple agtech projects in the works. Most recently, a partnership deal with Bonduelle is anticipated to yield cutting-edge picking technology for cauliflower.

This piece is a part of our ongoing agtech feature series, highlighting bright innovations impacting the agricultural sector.

Soft Robotics’ gripper technology offers a non-traditional robotic approach to picking up objects with tact and versatility, closing a major use case gap for automation in manufacturing. By creating an end-of-arm-tool (EOAT) that can reliably pick and place objects without damage or chaos, high-speed automation can now be a viable replacement to human workers’ movements. 

In recent years, the agricultural industry has witnessed a significant increase in automation investments. According to the Western Growers Center for Innovation Technology's 2022 Specialty Crop Automation Report, automation-related investments on farms saw a remarkable 25 percent surge in 2022. Approximately 70 percent of participating growers indicated that they had invested in automation in 2022, with an average annual spend of $450,000-$500,000 per grower. The biggest percentage of investment? Weed management: 45 percent of survey respondents reported investing in automated weeding technology.

The Berry Growers of Ontario (BGO) have recently teamed up with Croptracker to provide its members with tools to aid record-keeping, operations management, and traceability. If you are an BGO member, you are now eligible to receive a free Enterprise-level Croptracker package.

Effective workflow advancements in agriculture can’t happen from the sidelines. When Croptracker CEO Matt Deir reflects on the company’s oldest relationship with Tregunno Farms, he’s brought back to one of his early RFID product development discussions with Ryan Tregunno, manager of the post-harvest side of the business.

Another year, another great Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention!

As always, the trade show was an exciting and insightful couple of days.  It was great to catch up with current Croptracker clients and meet lots of new growers.  We loved getting to chat with you all, and we came away with several ideas on how we can make Croptracker even better!

It was also an honour to be the subject of berry growers Ellen Jennen of Jennen Family Farm Market and Brian Rijke of Dentz Orchards & Berry Farm's talk Growers' Experiences with Croptracker; in which they discussed their set-up processes, growing pains, and success with the software.  We would like to thank them for taking the time to share their experiences with OFGVA members and are delighted they have had such positive experiences with Croptracker.  We look forward to seeing their farms thrive into the future!

This customer showcase blog will highlight Enza Zaden’s Croptracker use to record their spray applications and inventory at their Florida research and development station. Enza is in their third year of using Croptracker’s Spray module.

In this customer showcase, Croptracker would like to highlight one of our longest customer relationships with Hollabaugh Bros., Inc. Hollabaugh Bros has been using Croptracker’s spray and harvest tracking modules since 2013 and has been an important part of the continued development and improvement of the spray module.

Croptracker’s system has always been designed based on the needs of growers, packers and associations. In this case study, we’d like to introduce an important client and development partner of new Croptracker modules: Schuyler Farms in Simcoe Ontario. Brett Schuyler is a former board member with Ontario Apple Growers (OAG) and current CEO at Schuyler Farms, Brett has been in the apple business since 2008.

A Croptracker success story, Brett started small with just one user and two modules to improve his harvest and labor tracking records. Now Brett has brought his experience and expertise to bear for Croptracker’s new Quality Control module.

We are pleased to be highlighting Rice Fruit Company in our latest customer spotlight series. Rice Fruit is heading into their 5th year with Croptracker and their second year as a Croptracker RnD partner. Through this partnership, Rice Fruit benefits from access to Croptracker’s full functionality while offering valuable feedback on new modules and features to help refine and enhance the system. For this article we spoke with three key members of Rice Fruit’s team, Leighton Rice, Maggie Travis and Mike Tully.

Sandy Shore Farms, a family-run enterprise established in 1956, stands as a prime example of agricultural innovation rooted in tradition. Operating in Norfolk, Ontario, the farm capitalizes on the region's rich, fertile sandy soil to cultivate a significant volume of high-quality produce, including fresh asparagus, onions and bell peppers.

In this customer spotlight, we are shining a light on a Harvest Quality Vision (HQV) user in the UK, Avalon Growers Producer Organisation (AGPO). This collectively owned marketing organization was formed in 2016 and is 50% grower-owned. Over a dozen apple and pear growers across the Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Kent and Hampshire regions have combined forces to manage the sale and marketing of their own fruit through AGPO. They have been using Croptracker since the 2020 harvest. For this piece, we spoke with Simon Everett, who is the farm manager at Moatlands Farm, one of the largest growing members of AGPO.

Located north-east of Toronto, Algoma Orchards stands out for its longevity and agricultural excellence. For over 50 years, Algoma has been family run and has cultivated and processed quality apples, building a legacy rooted in reliability, innovation, and a deep commitment to sustainable practices. As a leading grower, packer, and marketer of apples, producing 2 million boxes of apples and up to 10 million liters of apple juice annually, Algoma Orchards continuously seeks advanced solutions to maintain its high standards.