Strategically using input and production cost tracking

Technology Category

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms

Applicable Industries

Agriculture

Applicable Functions

Discrete Manufacturing
Quality Assurance

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Predictive Maintenance

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
Data Science Services

The Challenge

Daly Potato Co., a diversified potato growing operation in Tasmania, Australia, faced two main challenges. Firstly, they leased land to grow potatoes but were unsure of the exact returns from this leased land. Secondly, as producers of food products sold directly to consumers, they were required by auditors to maintain accurate records of inputs used in the growing process. The company needed a solution that could accurately track all inputs, labour costs, and machinery costs to provide an accurate cost of production per field and accurate reports of all chemicals and fertilisers applied.

About The Customer

Daly Potato Co. is a diversified potato growing operation based in Tasmania, Australia. The company, started by Gerard and Susan Daly 30 years ago, produces around 6,000 tons of potatoes per year on 140 hectares of land, a mix of owned and leased land. The company is the main supplier of fresh potatoes and potato salads to major Australian grocery chain Woolworths. They also service Coles and other grocery chains with fresh potatoes, ready-to-eat meals, potato salads, and 'Spud Lite', or low carb potatoes. The Daly family also runs 300 head of Angus and Angus x Hereford cattle that are part of the Cape Grim label, which offers prime grass-fed, free-range Tasmanian beef to a range of international clients. The company also operates the 'Hellfire Bluff Distillery', which turns 2nd grade potatoes into potato vodka and creates several varieties of gin.

The Solution

Daly Potato Co. implemented Agworld, a cloud-based data management platform, to track all inputs, labour costs, and machinery costs. This allowed them to get an accurate cost of production per field and accurate reports of all chemicals and fertilisers applied. The platform also enabled them to satisfy all audit requirements of quality certifications such as HACCP and Freshcare by having lists of chemicals utilised reportable in Agworld, including batch numbers, geographical location of fields, etc. The company's agronomist also used Agworld to provide all recommendations, which were then converted into actuals and attached to the batch numbers used for that spray.

Operational Impact

By creating accurate cost of production reports per field in Agworld, Daly Potato Co. was able to make more profitable decisions about leasing specific fields for potato production.
The company was able to satisfy all audit requirements of quality certifications such as HACCP and Freshcare by having lists of chemicals utilised reportable in Agworld, including batch numbers, geographical location of fields, etc.
The implementation of Agworld made it easier for the company to manage their operations, as they could easily track all inputs, labour costs, and machinery costs.

Quantitative Benefit

The company was able to reduce their land usage by 20 hectares while maintaining the same quantity of seedlings, leading to a reduction in production costs.