Vereijken Kwekerijen: using data analysis to take the next step

Through data analysis we can make the next step

The production numbers have been good already for many years, this for the kilos harvested and the quality we produce. Still, as a grower and a company, you want to keep improving. The question remains: “What can help you get to the next level?”. A very extensive data analysis maps all actions and goals reached and compiles these into information, which allows you to improve both the production and the quality of your product. LetsGrow.com makes data analysis available for all growers.

In the greenhouse industry, the developments around data analysis have come a long way in recent years. By using advanced Big Data and Artificial Intelligence techniques it is possible to make analyses that the human brain cannot perform. With this development, the greenhouse industry is transforming and improving quantitatively as well as qualitatively.

When these modern technologies are combined with knowledge and plant physiology models, this offers the large potential to further optimize cultivation processes. LetsGrow.com had the competencies and was able to perform data analysis by Vereijken.
 
 
Director Hans Vereijken: “We believe in growing based on data. For years already we are using LetsGrow.com to compare the data between our nurseries on a central platform. We want an internal discussion of what we intend to achieve and how we aim to achieve this, instead of discussing in hindsight how something happened. LetsGrow.com made a new tool recently allowing us to apply the Plan-Do-Check-Act method. However, we wanted to do and know more”.

LetsGrow.com has developed a tool for Light Usage Efficiency (LUE) data analysis and used data from four years over five locations. The LUE shows us how efficient the transformation was from radiation to production. The analysis shows that this fluctuated too much over the years. The data analysis provided a lot of information to think about.
  
Peter Hendriks: “Vereijken has been a valued customer of our company for years. We have always stored their data according to our agreement, just like we do with our other customers. Now we offer our customers the opportunity to use this data to pinpoint where there is room for improvement. As well as what they can improve. Then the grower and his crop consultant can work with this data to make improvements. We also offer the service to monitor if the improvements are implemented and working. With the climate monitor, we have a tool that allows you to see (on a five-minute basis) if the climate is in balance. Allowing for potentially major improvements".

Hans and his growers have followed a training Data Driven Growing. Through this training he wants to gain a better understanding of the results of the data analysis, to link the theories and research with real-life cases so he could apply them in practice. Thanks to an increase in measuring equipment it becomes harder to combine all data into useful information.
 

Vereijken: “For this purpose, we need additional tools, we also need to be able to use this data. Optimizing our way of growing. Using this data analysis enabled us to make the next step as a company”.