Data-Driven Sustainable Farming: Hitachi’s Lumada and Bartle Frere Bananas
Technology Category
- Networks & Connectivity - Cellular
- Sensors - GPS
Applicable Industries
- Agriculture
- Telecommunications
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Digital Twin
- Farm Monitoring & Precision Farming
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Bartle Frere Bananas is a mid-sized, multi-generational farm located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The farm supplies both small markets and major grocery chains. Its owner, Gavin Devaney, is a recipient of the Future Farming award for his adoption of best management practices and innovative technology solutions. Devaney is committed to farming responsibly and sustainably, balancing fertilization, irrigation, and productivity while being a good steward of the land. He is part of the Data Driven Sustainable Smart Farming Project, which aims to improve environmental outcomes and productivity for Australia’s horticulture sector. Devaney's ultimate vision is to achieve market and consumer confidence by being transparent about the journey of each Bartle Frere Bananas bunch from paddock, through the supply chain, to market.
The Challenge
Bartle Frere Bananas, a mid-sized, multi-generational farm in Far North Queensland, Australia, was on a mission to improve environmental outcomes and productivity for Australia’s horticulture sector. The farm, which supplies small markets and major grocery chains alike, was facing challenges related to extreme weather systems, flooding, and rising operational costs. The owner, Gavin Devaney, was committed to farming responsibly and sustainably, which meant balancing fertilization, irrigation, and productivity while being good stewards of the land. The farm wanted to gather data from across its operation and generate insights to inform best management practices, productivity, regulatory compliance, and sustainability. Devaney wanted to prove that his operations adhered to the farming industry’s best management practices and demonstrate that the bananas at Bartle Frere Bananas are carefully grown in a more innovative and sustainable way.
The Solution
Hitachi Vantara collaborated with Bartle Frere Bananas and Applied Horticulture Research to develop a smart farming solution. The solution involved the correlation of real-time irrigation data, soil moisture, online nitrate leaching data, and weather monitoring and forecasting to inform horticulture best practice. It required bespoke software development and a configuration of Hitachi Lumada Manufacturing Insights designed for a horticulture use case. The implementation required the integration of sensor data from dozens of sources including a weather station, connectivity with a cloud platform, curation of the data, advanced data analytics, and the presentation of actionable insights. Hitachi Vantara provided overall solution design, sourcing of sensors and other technologies, and implementation including data capture, edge computing, sensors and trackers, advanced analytics, and the output interface. All of this data was analyzed and presented visually, as data, alerts, and prescriptive insights via the Hitachi Vantara Control Tower solution user interface at the farm office to inform daily management decisions and long-term planning.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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