Behind the scenes Part 1- Cacao Farm Management Technology Integration
- Scott Hille
- Aug 5
- 4 min read
I have been meaning to write this blog for some time. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm always thinking about something. Several thought streams are always active inside my head and like the charged particle beam from a Ghostbuster Proton Pack, really bad things happen when those streams collide. Never cross the streams. Unless...
In today's world, think of impossible tasks as those charged particle beams, by themselves they are challenging. Cross them at the appropriate time and magic can happen. I think in today's terms its called innovate and integrate. Coming from public safety, management has always tried to capture meaningful data and analyze it to make a better decision. After watching management consistently make terrible decisions, I understood that I was doomed to repeat those mistakes unless I was able to capture the right data and analyze it objectively. Lucky for me great innovators exist and are properly fueled with caffeine and theobromine as I.
A key component to success in todays modern world is the capture of 'real world' data. Data has to be easily captured which means a streamlined process, minimal effort, low chance of errors, any errors should be easily corrected, and data should be simple to analyze.
One of the first components installed on the farm was a weather station from Davis Instruments©. https://www.davisinstruments.com/ My childhood fascination with weather spilled into my adult life once I realized my smartphone could help me keep track of everything weather. The farm was no different. Life on a tropical and unpredictable island needs to be monitored and the only way to do so is with a user friendly and durable solution offered by Davis Instruments©. The WeatherLink® app https://www.weatherlink.com/ is the user side of Davis Instruments data collection and is live on our website here: Current Weather When doing research into data loggers for the monitoring of the cacao ferment, it became very frustrating. I don't remember finding any good reviews of any devices on the market. Issues ranged from connectivity to lost data to integration. And fermenting cacao is a mess, and that mess comes with a stick to ya kind of fun. The kind of stick to you kind of fun that surprises you're folding clean laundry. So pushing buttons to pair a bluetooth device, charging ports, USB ports....its just not gonna work. Frustrated, my mind began to innovate. I found myself analyzing some weather data on the WeatherLink® site and all of the parameters found in the soil temperature and sensor suite would be perfect. A call to the support side of Davis Instruments© landed me speaking to an engineer who had a good laugh at my expense as I tried to describe what I wanted to try and do. End result was the equipment would handle the environmental conditions and I rolled forward. As I built the fermentation station, I integrated four soil temperature sensors which monitor the enclosure and the ferment mass at three set depths throughout the duration of the ferment. This innovative integration has proved invaluable as it has helped us evaluate and master the fermentation process using no external yeast inoculants and only the naturally occurring yeasts from the exterior of the cacao pods. Since September of 2022, the design has performed flawlessly. I don't think I have updated the CR123 battery since, meaning the solar has been very efficient. Our continued success here is directly attributed to Davis Instruments©. Done Once; Done Right.
Farm management is another huge challenge. I happened to find one company that does it all. Enter NRDS© or Natural Resource Data Solutions© based in Maui, HI. https://nrdsdata.com/ I first contacted Sam Aruch in 2019-2020 as I was planting the Cacao Orchards. All of the key desirable components were present. App based on Android and Apple. Web interface. Aerial Mapping integrated across all platforms. QR code interface for rapid identification with data entry and local support. Set up went very well. Aerial mapping was completed using Drone Deploy and an early model DJI consumer drone. The stitched files were shared and soon uploaded and available across all platforms. Important components were installed and configured to coordinate and overlay with the stitched map. Aluminum QR tags were ordered from National Band and Tag© out of Newport, KY and attached to each plant with a stainless steel fishing leader and a crimp. https://www.nationalband.com/ Now, nearly everything done in an orchard and on the farm can be captured for analysis. Harvest data shows orchard maturation, varietal production and forecast for month to month and year to year comparisons. Damage from Phytophthora and feral hogs are adjusted in user generated heat maps which allow for a focused targeting of bad actors. As we move to attempt to protect our Coconut trees from the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle, the countermeasures will be QR coded and monitored for efficiency. Having the ability to add fields and edit parameters are invaluable as a new farmer. And for those of us who are challenged, a library of how to videos helps.
Both platforms continue to evolve and improve. The specialized nature of NRDS requires communication with tech support from time to time. Sam and his team deliver unprecedented knowledge, patience and support when the 'how to' video doesn't cover your question.
Island weather is brutal to say the least. That which facilitates incredible growth also brings the eventual destruction of every gasket and plastic housing. Batteries fail in the salty humidity and there needs to be a replacement cycle to insure data integrity. Mobile phones have improved in water resistance however the screens on those devices are difficult to use in rainfall making data entry frustrating. Consider the alternative of pen and paper and you move forward doing your best to dry the screen between entries.
Yearly subscriptions exist. There is a price for good data associated with both systems. Scalable based on needs and absolutely worth it.
Do not hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to share what we have learned. Until next time.
Aloha!
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