Method and system to communicate agricultural product information to a consumer

• US 7,440,901 B1
• Filed: 11/02/2000
• Issued: 10/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SureHarvest Services LLC (Where Food Comes From, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SureHarvest, Inc. (Where Food Comes From, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ohmart, Clifford P., Dlott, Jeffrey W., Connolly, Rebecca, Rosenberg, Harry W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender; F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAAWAT, MUSSA A
• Application Number:
  US09/705,393
• Time in Patent Office: 2,910 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1
• US Class Current: 705/346
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06393 Score-carding, benchmarking or key performance indicator [KPI] analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0281 Customer communication at a business location, e.g. providing product or service information, consulting

Abstract

A method to communicate agricultural product information to a user includes receiving, at a management information system, a request for agricultural product information. The request includes an agricultural product identifier. An agricultural product record, identified utilizing the agricultural product identifier, is then accessed and retrieved from a database at the management information system. The agricultural product record includes agricultural product data collected on the chain of custody of the agricultural product. The agricultural product data, as contained within the record, is then communicated to a user responsive to the request. The communication of the request, and the response, may be performed via the Internet as web-based communications.

Claims

1. A method of communicating agricultural product information to a user, the method including:

communicating at a management information system a user interface to a computer system operated by the user for display on a display device that forms a part of the computer system, the user interface being communicated by way of a network, the user interface being configured to provide a first input field for inputting an agricultural product identifier, a second input field for inputting an agricultural production system identifier, a third input field for inputting a lot number, and a menu of selectable certification options for inputting a certification option, the agricultural product identifier being configured to identify an agricultural product;

receiving from the computer system a request for real-time agricultural product information collected along a chain of custody of the agricultural product, the request being made while the agricultural product is within the chain of custody and including the agricultural product identifier, the agricultural production system identifier, the lot number, and the certification option;

locating an agricultural product record associated with an agricultural production system, based on the agricultural product identifier, the agricultural production system identifier, and the lot number, at the management information system, wherein the agricultural product record includes agricultural product data;

locating a compliance requirement based on the certification option at the management information system, the compliance requirement including a sustainability requirement;

comparing the agricultural product data against the compliance requirement at the management information system;

generating a report of the real-time agricultural product information in a form of a graph based on the comparing at the management information system, the report being generated for reporting a level of compliance of the agricultural product and further being generated for evaluating a performance of an agricultural production system over a time period, the report including a list of certification, regulation, and accreditation standards that comply with the agricultural product data, the report further including a comparative rating of a metric with a certification standard based on statistic, the metric including a certification status and a relative compliance label, the certification status including one or more of a pass or a fail, the relative compliance label including two or more of a grade, a rating relative to the certification standard or a statistically derived confidence interval, wherein a resolution of the rating relative to the certification standard and a resolution of a certification criteria that define the certification standard are customizable; and

communicating at the management information system the report to the computer system responsive to the request for real-time agricultural product information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparative rating of the metric is further based on a comparison of the metric with an environmental impact.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparative rating of the metric is further based on a comparison of the metric with a social impact.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the comparative rating of the metric is further based on a comparison of the metric with an economic impact.

5. A method of communicating agricultural product information to a user, the method including:

communicating at a management information system a user interface to a computer system operated by the user for display on a display device that forms a part of the computer system, the user interface being communicated by way of a network, the user interface being configured to provide a first input field for inputting an agricultural product identifier, a second input field for inputting an agricultural production system identifier, a third input field for inputting a lot number, a fourth input field for inputting agricultural production system data, and a menu of selectable certification options for inputting a certification option, the agricultural product identifier being configured to identify an agricultural product, the user being one or more of a consumer or a farmer, each selectable certification option having a check box that is configured to be utilized by the user to identify one or more of a particular certification standard, a criteria or a guideline;

receiving from the computer system a request for real-time agricultural product information collected along a chain of custody of the agricultural product, the request being made while the agricultural product is within the chain of custody and including the agricultural product identifier, the agricultural production system identifier, the lot number, the agricultural production system data, and the certification option;

locating an agricultural product record associated with an agricultural production system based on the agricultural product identifier, the agricultural production system identifier, the agricultural production system data, and the lot number, at the management information system, wherein the agricultural product record includes agricultural product data;

locating a compliance requirement based on the certification option at the management information system, the compliance requirement including a sustainability requirement;

comparing the agricultural product data against the compliance requirement at the management information system;

generating a report of the real-time agricultural product information in a form of a graph based on the comparing at the management information system, the report being generated for reporting a level of compliance of the agricultural product and further being generated for evaluating a performance of an agricultural production system over a time period, the report including a list of certification, regulation, and accreditation standards that comply with the agricultural product data, the report further including a comparative rating of a metric with a certification standard based on statistic, the metric including a certification status and a relative compliance label, the certification status including one or more of a pass or a fail, the relative compliance label including two or more of a grade, a rating relative to the certification standard or a statistically derived confidence interval, wherein a resolution of the rating relative to the certification standard and a resolution of a certification criteria that define the certification standard are customizable; and

communicating at the management information system the report to the computer system responsive to the request for real-time agricultural product information.