October marks a special time on the global calendar – World Food Month. It is a month dedicated to raising awareness about food security, hunger, and the importance of sustainable agriculture.
Ifm’s smart sensor solutions support sustainable farming practices.
In this digital age, technology plays a pivotal role in addressing these challenges. Technology is revolutionising the food industry: enhancing productivity, reducing waste, and contributing to the global effort to eliminate hunger.
Sustainable farming
Sustainability is a central theme of World Food Month. Sustainability in food production encompasses a holistic approach to harmonising the steps and processes from the field to production and distribution and, in parallel, mitigating environmental impact and promoting long-term wellbeing. It involves managing resources and processes meticulously to achieve energy efficiency, resource optimisation, waste reduction, innovative production techniques and continuous improvement. Ifm’s smart sensor solutions support sustainable farming practices by helping farmers use resources more efficiently. Sensors help farmers to optimise irrigation, fertilisation, and pest control, and thus reduce the environmental impact of agriculture while increasing yields.
Precision agriculture
One of the key aspects of modern agriculture is precision farming. Here, Ifm electronic’s sensor technology and automation solutions enable farmers to optimise their agricultural processes, improving efficiency and productivity. Efficiency in food production entails a strategic and systematic approach that aims to optimise processes, resource use and overall operational efficiency to achieve higher productivity, reduce costs and improve product quality. With greater efficiency, food manufacturers can gain a competitive advantage, reduce environmental impact, and contribute to a more sustainable and resilient industry.
Water management
Freshwater is a precious and limited resource. The irrigation of fields and greenhouses still accounts for around 70% of water demand. Food producers are under pressure to improve productivity while maintaining animal welfare, sustainability, and profitability. ifm provides water cost saving solutions suitable for outdoor and indoor farming, livestock, aquaculture, and the production of alternative proteins. It also provides solutions for the production and storage of raw materials. For a water-saving, productive and sustainable future, ifm’s digital solutions support intelligent agriculture. Its smart sensor solutions help farmers optimise their water usage by providing accurate data. This information allows farmers to irrigate their fields when and where necessary, reducing water wastage and conserving this vital resource.
Food safety and reducing food waste
Prioritising food safety and minimising food waste are global concerns. Food safety in food processing means automated systems, technologies, and processes used in food production need to maintain or improve the safety and quality of the final products. Ifm’s range of process sensors with IO-Link technology are used to monitor various parameters during food processing, transportation, and storage. The sensors used can self-monitor their status to ensure accuracy and reliability in meeting food safety standards. Holistic digitalisation solutions can improve traceability by accurately recording and tracking the flow of ingredients and products. This real-time monitoring helps maintain the quality and safety of food products, reducing foodborne illnesses and food waste. Continuously monitoring environmental factors like temperature and humidity throughout the transportation and storage of food can also assist in reducing spoilage and prolonging the shelf-life of the products. This, in turn, minimises the amount of food that goes to waste.
Supply chain optimisation
Efficient supply chains are crucial for delivering food from farm to table. Ifm’s sensors are used to track and monitor goods throughout the supply chain. This technology enables better inventory management, reduces spoilage, and ensures that food products reach consumers in optimal condition. The ifm track and trace gate offers a complete solution for automated and transparent logistics for incoming and outgoing goods. By directly transferring all goods flows to the IT level, users can organise the interlocking of production, inventory, and suppliers more efficiently than before. The cost saving comes on top of this: goods that are not picked properly generate consequential errors. With digital transparency, such errors can be avoided, the process speed, especially in order throughput time, can be increased and thus the quality of order fulfilment can be improved. This relieves internal resources and increases customer satisfaction. Some call it Logistics 4.0, or Smart Distribution. The decisive factors are in the advantages that ifm track and trace solutions deliver.
IIoT integration
Ifm’s sensors and software solutions play a pivotal role in advancing the food industry. With IO-Link technology, the sensors enable real-time data collection and monitoring. This helps ensure food safety and quality by facilitating quality control and predictive maintenance. Additionally, by implementing IIoT software solutions such as ifm’s Moneo, production efficiency can be improved, waste minimised, and productivity increased, while ensuring strict industry regulations are followed. The data collected from the sensors can be integrated into farm management systems. Farmers can access the data remotely via smartphones or computers, so they can make timely decisions and adjustments in their farming practices.
Sensor technology serving the agricultural and food sectors is constantly evolving. Ifm's cutting-edge sensor technology offers food manufacturers an opportunity to secure a competitive edge, diminish their environmental footprint, and actively participate in building a more sustainable industry – supporting the initiatives and goals of World Food Day.
For more information visit: www.ifm.com
