Modern food industry technology plays a crucial role in meeting global food demands. As advancements in technology in the food industry continue, farmers and producers can reduce waste, boost productivity, and keep up with the ever-growing demands of the world’s increasing population.
Challenges for the Food Industry
According to the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the world’s population is projected to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. This means more mouths to feed than ever, in parts of the world that are less developed and more prone to food shortages. Compounding this challenge are other issues that the food industry has always faced, including:
Land Usage
Modern agriculture is incredibly demanding in terms of real estate. Large-scale farms capable of feeding major populations require acres upon acres of open fields for growing crops or raising livestock. This land also has to have the correct ecological factors, such as weather, soil composition, topography, and more. In fact, half of all inhabitable land in the world is given over to agriculture. As populations continue to grow, the competition between living space and growing space will only increase as well.
Environmental Impact
Modern farming practices involve heavy amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals that can negatively impact the local environment. On a broader global scale, the food industry’s emissions are closely tied to climate change, as carbon dioxide and methane trap heat in the planet’s atmosphere. Agriculture is also extremely demanding in terms of natural resources like fresh water, which is needed in countless other areas.
Spoilage
The moment food is harvested or leaves the slaughterhouse, spoilage is a concern. Certain types of food, such as fruits or raw meat, only last a handful of days before going bad. Therefore, food has to either be treated for preservation or stored in a way that prevents it from spoiling. Both of these options add complexity and demand for outside resources to the food supply chain.
Transportation
Unsurprisingly, most people do not live on a farm. Given the incompatibility between farmland and dense living areas, food must be transported from where it is grown and raised to where it is actually consumed. Managing this food supply chain is an entire task itself, which requires specialized technology and skills to address.
Food Industry Technology Solutions
Fortunately, modern technology in the food industry aims to address these issues, letting farmers get more out of their land while also reducing their cost and environmental impact.
Internet of Things
Modern farms are far more technologically advanced than most realize. With modern industrial-grade PCs and Internet of Things (IoT) technology, farmers can better coordinate between workers, equipment, and information from sensors spread throughout the field. These sensors can gather data on parameters like soil composition, moisture, and temperature, warning farmers of potential crop failure before it ever occurs.
This same food industry technology can be used to coordinate and control robotic drones to expand a farm’s capabilities. These drones can deliver water and fertilizer precisely where it is needed rather than relying on large, inefficient sprinklers. IoT can even be used in grocery stores, informing employees of what food to push to the front of the shelf to ensure it gets sold before it goes bad.
Precision Agriculture
Precision agriculture (also called precision farming or site-specific crop management) focuses on using a farm’s recourses more efficiently and on a smaller and more targeted scale. For example, rather than blanketing an entire farm in water or pesticides, precision farming delivers these resources precisely where they’re needed, whether to nourish plants or kill parasites.
This approach combines naturally with IoT technology, such as using IoT sensors connected to a rugged mini PC to identify sections of a farm that need attention.
Refrigeration
Far and away, one of the most critical innovations in food industry technology is the adoption of refrigeration. The ability to freeze and preserve food for weeks and months makes it easier to transport, store, and sell. Modern refrigeration technology implements IoT sensors as well to track temperatures inside refrigeration units. Rather than relying on a single thermometer, multiple sensors throughout the unit can report to the same computer, alerting workers if a section is warmer than other parts and preventing thawing.
Advanced Logistics
Another key step to delivering food efficiently and preventing waste is using effective transportation and logistics. Technology in the food industry is practically synonymous with barcode scanning and RFID tags; by scanning them with industrial computer tablets, farmers and warehouse workers can easily track shipments and access critical information like shipping requirements and time until expiration. This helps ensure food arrives on time, uncontaminated, and ready for sale.
Benefits of Modern Food Industry Technology
Modern food technology benefits both farmers and consumers by making the process more efficient, lowering costs, and with more options to choose from.
More Efficient Use of Resources
Farming is a massive consumer of basic resources like land and water. In California alone, agriculture makes up 40% of the state’s water usage, irrigating its farms with 34 million acre-feet of water. For context, that is enough water to cover 31 million football fields with 1 foot of water each. Anything that reduces agriculture’s impact and makes it more efficient, such as using IoT sensors to detect when a field needs watering rather than following a preset schedule, should be a top priority for farmers.
Less Food Wasted
Whether it rots on the vine or goes bad on the store shelf, whenever food goes bad, it makes everything that it took to grow and stock that food a waste as well. Food industry technologies like refrigeration and IoT-informed stocking practices help prevent this waste from occurring, saving businesses money and shelf space.
More Food Variety
For consumers, better practices in the food industry lead to lower prices and more choices when they visit the grocery store. Shoppers in the United States can enjoy rice from India, beef from Japan, and beer from Germany thanks to the international system of shipping and logistics that tracks, preserves, and protects food as it travels around the globe. Not only does this open up more culinary options for consumers, but it also offers dietary alternatives that certain individuals might require.
Challenges for Using Technology in Food Industry Operations
Like with any innovation or new equipment, using advanced digital tools in the food industry comes with its own set of challenges that need to be addressed.
Reliability
Whether out in the field or in the processing plant, any computers used in the food industry need to be rugged and durable. Consumer-grade electronics simply don’t have the design features like fanless cooling and IP65-rated front bezels needed to survive such harsh work environments. Only industrial-grade devices are designed and manufactured to these standards.
Connectivity
Farms are increasingly digital spaces, and any equipment used on them needs to be capable of interacting with a wide spectrum of devices. While out in the fields, reliable WiFi and Bluetooth connections are necessary to maintain communication between devices. In the processing plant or on harvesting equipment, computers need to have a range of both modern and legacy ports. This allows them to communicate with and control a range of both modern and older equipment.
Cost
Any new equipment inevitably has a price tag attached. One of the greatest challenges for farmers is balancing their performance requirements with their budget. One of the best ways to answer this problem is by working with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). These businesses can customize products to the user’s exact needs, which helps prevent them from overspending to get the performance that they need.
Farm-Ready Industrial Computers from Cybernet Manufacturing
The right technology in food industry operations can help reduce operating costs, prevent crops from going to waste, and even lessen a farm’s environmental impact. However, accomplishing this requires powerful and reliable industrial computers.
If your farm or food processing plant is looking for new digital tools, contact the team at Cybernet Manufacturing. Our reliable industrial computers and tablets provide the durability and power you need to support operations from the field to the store shelf.