The Challenge
Black Gold Farms faced significant challenges in gaining accurate data on crop sizing, count, and weight during harvesting. Sweet potatoes, unlike other root crops, come in highly variable shapes and sizes, making consistency difficult to achieve. Without comprehensive data insights during harvest, the farm often had to rely on guesswork or delayed reporting for decisions on sorting, processing, and market allocation. This lack of detailed data led to inefficiencies and made it hard to optimize their yield for market specifications.
The Solution
To address these challenges, Black Gold Farms adopted HarvestEye's advanced crop monitoring system. Travis Kroll, a representative at Black Gold Farms, shared his positive experience, stating, 'So far, working with HarvestEye, our experience has been very good. The support that we're getting back from them, we have meetings with them twice a week to give any feedback.' The decision to integrate HarvestEye was driven by its ability to provide in-field data insights on crop size, count, and weight. The system, mounted onto harvesters, captures crop data directly from the conveyor belt and uses AI and machine learning to analyze it. This seamless integration allowed Black Gold Farms to make immediate operational adjustments, transforming how they handle their sweet potato harvest.
The Results
Since implementing HarvestEye, Black Gold Farms has seen transformative results. The accurate size, weight, and count insights provided by HarvestEye have enabled better resource use, higher profitability, and scalable implementation. Travis Kroll noted, 'Working with HarvestEye has been a great experience. It's going to be a game-changer with how we look at what we're putting into our storage, how we pack that product out for each customer.' With HarvestEye, Black Gold Farms can now make informed decisions, maximizing yield and optimizing logistics across their 2,400 acres of sweet potatoes. The system's ease of installation, requiring only a day per machine, and the frequent support meetings twice a week have further ensured its successful integration and use.
