Method and apparatus for tracking and reporting agricultural-producer information

• US 9,607,276 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2012
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SureHarvest, Inc. (Where Food Comes From, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SureHarvest, Inc. (Where Food Comes From, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dlott, Jeffrey W., Rosenberg, Harry W., Ohmart, Clifford P., Connolly, Rebecca
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen, Akiba
• Application Number:
  US13/547,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20130008943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,720 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1.1, 705/7.11, 705/7.41, 137/118.02, 701/468, 701/494, 701/50, D15/25
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/02 Agriculture; Fishing; Forestry; Mining

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure include methods and apparatus for tracking and reporting agricultural-producer information. In an example embodiment, an apparatus comprises a hand-held device including a display and one or more input devices to sense product identification indicia associated with or affixed to a food product that is grown or raised in an agricultural operation. The hand-held device includes at least one processor to determine a machine-readable identification code from the product identification indicia; send the identification code to at least one remote server; receive, from the at least one remote server, information that is associated with the product, the information including agricultural producer-specific information that is associated with the production of the food product; and display at least some of the received agricultural producer-specific information on the display in human readable form.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a hand-held device including;

a display; and

one or more input devices to sense product identification indicia associated with or affixed to a food product that is grown or raised in an agricultural operation, the agricultural operation being one in a series of agricultural operations in a chain of custody of the food product;

the hand-held device including at least one processor to;

determine a machine-readable identification code from the product identification indicia;

send the identification code to at least one remote server;

receive, from the at least one remote server, information that is associated with the product, the information including agricultural producer-specific information that is associated with the production of the food product of at least one of the series of agricultural operations in the series of agricultural operations in the chain of custody of the food product, the at least one remote server including one or more modules implemented by one or more processors, the one or more modules configured to, at least;

receive first data associated with an environmental impact, social impact, or compliance aspect resulting from the production of the agricultural product by the agricultural producer, the first data being received from a single agricultural operation in the series of agricultural operations, the first received data including a first data record from a first custodian device located at a first location in the series of agricultural operations at which the first custodian device read a first code that pairs a data type with the first location, the first data record pairing a first value that quantifies the data type with the first code that pairs the data type with the first location;

receive second data associated with an environmental impact, social impact, or compliance aspect resulting from the production of the agricultural product by the agricultural producer, the second data being received from a plurality of agricultural operations in the series of agricultural operations, the second received data including a second data record from a second custodian device located at a second location in the plurality of locations in the series of agricultural operations at which the second custodian device read a second code that pairs the data type with the second location, the second data record pairing a second value that quantifies the data type with the second code that pairs the data type with the second location;

generate an aggregate result for the data type based on the first or second data and a determination that that an aggregated set of data records that includes the first and second data records can automatically generate a report about the data type; and

generate and include in the report comparative agricultural product information using the aggregate result and at least some of the first or second data and indicate in the report whether the data type that is paired with the first and second locations by the first and second codes meets or does not meet the aggregate results for the data type; and

server cause a user device to receive and display the generated report about the data type, the user device being distinct from the first and second custodian devices from which the first and second data records are collectively received.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more input devices includes one or more of the following:

a keyboard;

bar code reader;

an audio device;

an imaging camera; and

, a radio frequency identification means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the producer-specific information includes production practices employed by the agricultural operation.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the production practices relate to one or more of the following agricultural operations:

a farm;

a ranch;

a forest operation;

a fishing operation; and

, a processing facility.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the production practices includes information relating to one or more of the following:

production units;

inputs;

biological processes; and

, time to produce the food product.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the production practices includes information relating to one or more of the following:

crop residue management;

cropping management;

pest management;

nutrient management;

soil management;

water management;

human resource management;

fermentation management;

quality control management; and

, biochemical process management.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the inputs include one or more of the following:

production inputs;

management inputs;

labor inputs; and

, capital inputs.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the production inputs include information relating to one or more of the following:

nutrients;

pesticides;

seeds;

seedlings;

bacterial strains;

yeast strains;

energy; and

, machinery.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the management inputs include information relating to one or more of the following:

farm managers;

facility managers;

boat or fleet managers;

product line managers;

quality control managers; and

, pest control managers.

10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the labor inputs include information relating to one or more of the following:

farm workers;

ranch-hands;

factory workers; and

, production line workers.

11. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the biological processes include information relating to any one or more of:

physical;

chemical;

biochemical;

individual organism;

population;

community;

watershed;

ecosystem; and

, biosphere processes impacting, or impacted by, the production of the food product.

12. A system comprising one or more modules to:

receive an identification code from one or more input devices, the identification code corresponding to a food product that is grown or raised in an agricultural operation, the agricultural operation being one in a series of agricultural operations in a chain of custody of the food product;

receive or store information that is associated with the product, the information including agricultural producer-specific information that is associated with the production of the food product of at least one of the series of agricultural operations in the chain of custody of the food product;

receive first data associated with an environmental impact, social impact, or compliance aspect resulting from the production of the agricultural product by the agricultural producer, the first data being received from a single agricultural operation in the series of agricultural operations, the first received data including a first data record from a first custodian device located at a first location in the series of agricultural operations at which the first custodian device read a first code that pairs a data type with the first location, the first data record pairing a first value that quantifies the data type with the first code that pairs the data type with the first location;

receive second data associated with an environmental impact, social impact, or compliance aspect resulting from the production of the agricultural product by the agricultural producer, the second data being received from a plurality of agricultural operations in the series of agricultural operations, the second received data including a second data record from a second custodian device located at a second location in the plurality of locations in the series of agricultural operations at which the second custodian device read a second code that pairs the data type with the second location, the second data record pairing a second value that quantifies the data type with the second code that pairs the data type with the second location;

generate an aggregate result for the data type based on the first or second data and a determination that that an aggregated set of data records that includes the first and second data records can automatically generate a report about the data type

generate and include in the report comparative agricultural product information using the aggregate result and at least some of the first or second data and indicate in the report whether the data type that is paired with the first and second locations by the first and second codes meets or does not meet the aggregate results for the data type; and

system cause a user device to receive and display the generated report about the data type, the user device being distinct from the first and second custodian devices from which the first and second data records are collectively received.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least one of the processors is further to receive or store at least some of the information that is associated with the product at one or more remote servers.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the system further includes a computer or hand-held device comprising at least one of the processors, and wherein the at least one processor is further to receive, from the one or more remote servers, at least some of the information that is associated with the product.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the computer or hand-held device includes the display in which at least some of the producer-specific information is displayed in human-readable form.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more input devices includes one or more of the following:

a keyboard;

a bar code reader;

an audio device;

an imaging camera; and

, a radio frequency identification means.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the producer-specific information includes production practices employed by the agricultural operation.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the production practices relate to one or more of the following agricultural operations:

a farm;

a ranch;

a forest operation;

a fishing operation; and

, a processing facility.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the production practices includes information relating to one or more of the following:

production units;

inputs;

biological processes; and

, time to produce the food product.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the production practices includes information relating to one or more of the following:

crop residue management;

cropping management;

pest management;

nutrient management;

soil management;

water management;

human resource management;

fermentation management;

quality control management; and

, biochemical process management.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the inputs include one or more of the following:

production inputs;

management inputs;

labor inputs; and

, capital inputs.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the production inputs include information relating to one or more of the following:

nutrients;

pesticides;

seeds;

seedlings;

bacterial strains;

yeast strains;

energy; and

, machinery.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the management inputs include information relating to one or more of the following:

farm managers;

facility managers;

boat or fleet managers;

product line managers;

quality control managers; and

, pest control managers.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the labor inputs include information relating to one or more of the following:

farm workers;

ranch-hands;

factory workers; and

, production line workers.

25. The system of claim 19, wherein the biological processes include information relating to any one or more of:

physical;

chemical;

biochemical;

individual organism;

population;

community;

watershed;

ecosystem; and

, biosphere processes impacting, or impacted by, the production of the food product.