Consumers want to know more about what they eat. The ability to track produce from the field to final consumer will become an industry standard. Many processors and packing houses continue to adopt systems that aid in produce traceability. However, for this tracing to be complete, growers must also implement systems to fully track their produce back to the date harvested, field, and picker. The ability to quickly generate accurate records of the who, what, and where, paired with the information to identify other potentially affected harvested produce, are important aspects of fruit and vegetable traceability.

In recent years, food born illness outbreaks have been linked to spinach, bagged salad, onions, peaches, romaine, and sprouts. When contaminated produce is detected by consumers and retailers, there is great value for the industry to be able to tell the full story of the affected product. Traceability systems can help maintain growers’ and processors’ reputations (curtailing negative consumer opinions about a particular crop), decrease the amount of produce inventory that will be discarded (minimizing waste and financial loss), and help with preventative measures that can be taken in the future. Produce tracking also helps keep consumers safe, reducing the number and gravity of food borne illness cases. When food tracking is poor, limited, or takes too long to "trace back" the product through the supply chain, the specialty crop industry as a whole suffers.

2nd Sight hardware and software packages focus on collecting farm labor data in the field. If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, field data is a critical piece of the traceability puzzle. While tracking labor data, our systems are also logging the first human contact with the fruits or vegetables. To stop contamination at the source, you must be able to identify the source. 

• Date/time stamp: Every clock in, clock out, and log event is automatically tagged with a date and time so you know when employees performed specific jobs
• GPS: The handhelds register GPS coordinates, when available, every time the software logs an event to help pinpoint a field location
• Location: Growers can tag additional location information to specific jobs such as field name, block number, and row number
• Crew: Crew lists can aid in identifying groups of employees who may have been linked to a specific food safety concern
• Employee: Employees utilize RFID badges or barcodes programmed with their names to scan in and out of jobs and log pieces and produce harvested
• Container Tracking: Many apps feature container tracking modes that prompt employees to scan RFID tags or barcodes adhered to buckets, totes, or bins out in the field to link produce to pickers more precisely
• Digital Records: Quickly search and filter digital logs and reports by date, location, employee, crop variety, and container tracking ID to identify who, what, and where when produce safety issues arise
• Accessible Information: Data is secure and backed up on the Cloud and can be accessed through any computer connected to the Internet

Digitalizing farm data enables a grower to collect important information accurately and efficiently, whether that be for running payroll or for pinpointing a food safety issue. Knowing that John Smith was sick and only picked on June 2nd in Blocks 2 and 3 means that only Honeycrisps from these blocks on that day should be pulled from processing is attainable insight for both small and large farming operations with our current technology.

Case Studies
Many blueberry and cherry growers in British Columbia, Canada received funding through the BC Traceability Grant program to help subsidize the cost of implementing 2nd Sight software and hardware because our systems improve produce traceability. 

Contact us to learn more about how simple it is to get started at your farm. Start benefitting from improved labor tracking and produce tracking whether you pay by hours, by piece, or by weight.

If you are a fruit grower in BC, Canada, you may be eligible to receive fundintg through the BC Traceability Funding Program. The application opens January 4, 2021 and closes April 1, 2021. Click here to learn more about this government program and how you could be reimbursed for a large portion of the costs to implement the FairPick at your farm!

Fruit & Vegetable Weighing Compatibility

• Apples
• Apricots
• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Blackberries
• Blueberries
• Boysenberries
• Broccoli
• Cherries
• Cacao
• Cotton
• Figs
• Gooseberries
• Grapefruit
• Grapes
• Grape Leaves
• Huckleberries
• Kiwifruit
• Lemons
• Lettuce
• Limes
• Litchi
• Mango
• Nectarines
• Olives
• Oranges
• Peaches
• Pears
• Peppers
• Plums
• Raspberries
• Saffron
• Squash
• Strawberries
• Tangelos
• Tangerines
• Tea Leaves
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

Container Weighing Compatibility

• Bags
• Baskets
• Boxes
• Buckets
• Clamshells
• Crates
• Flats
• Lugs
• Pails
• Totes
• Trays

Ruggedized Handheld Computer (RHC)

Ruggedized, portable computer that runs the FairTrak app.

Features

• Water and drop-resistant design
• Robust, sunlight-readable LCD touch screen
• Integrated RFID and barcode scanner
• Cellular SIM card option for real-time data collection
• Charging dock (purchased separately)

FairPick App

Android-based app used to collect time clock and weigh data.

Features

• High-contrast buttons and icons
• Customizable tasks, lists, and container information
• Automatic software updates from the Google Play Store
• Audio/visual indicators to assist pickers
• Multiple configurations to adapt to a variety of picking processes

Fruit & Vegetable Scale

Robust, legal-for-trade scale that connects and sends weight information to FairPick Lite App.

Features

• 16.5” x 20.5” NTEP-certified scale
• 150 lb (68 kg) weighing capacity
• ± 0.01 lb (0.005 kg) accuracy
• Water-resistant

Employee Badge Registration Station

Office-based computer station used to program employee badges and RFID tags

Features

• Use your own Windows-based personal computer
• Plug the RFID Reader/Writer into any standard USB port
• Registration Station app download

FlexHub

Portable box that houses the receipt printer, external RFID reader, and battery that integrates with the RHC and scale.

Features

• Thermal receipt printer for picker receipts
• External RFID reader for quick badge scanning
• Sleek and sturdy design
• Integrates wtih other 2nd Sight products

Customer Portal

User-friendly website where growers manage employees, containers, piece rates, uploaded data, reports, and other harvest settings

Features

• Import employee lists to save time
• Create Employee Profiles to track minimum wage and break information
• Add multiple container tare weights or set to use individual tare weights
• Turn container RFID tag tracking on and off
• Set and change piece rates per container
• Enter a minimum scan time between weighs to prevent "double-scanning"
• Add additional Portal users with different admin roles
• Easily filter data
• Set the Pay Period to weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly beginning on any day of the week
• View standard and custom reports and download them in CSV format
• Edit, add, and delete data while maintaining a clear audit trail