BioScope acquired the harvest prediction service of startup VanBoven at the beginning of this month. VanBoven’s method combines drone data and weather forecasts to predict the harvest of field vegetables. It was used on almost a third of the acreage of Dutch broccoli growers last year. BioScope includes VanBoven's harvest forecast in its portfolio and will continue to develop the technology in the near future.

 

VanBoven was founded in 2019 by Bas Nootebos, Eric Verhoeff and Kaz Vermeer.  They found out that harvest planning based on a traditional ‘farm walk’ became increasingly difficult as farms grew larger. At the same time, there was a growing need to properly coordinate the food supply chain to achieve a good price for the grower and prevent food waste. VanBoven therefore developed a harvest planning and forecasting service. This service was successfully launched in the Dutch broccoli market in 2021 and answers the tricky question "When do you harvest the broccoli”? With the predictions of VanBoven farmers could harvest more effectively and make better decisions on selective harvesting in two or three rounds.

 

Perfect fit for BioScope

Vermeer: 'VanBoven's focus on broccoli has ensured a good connection with the niche market in which we operate. To grow further, we decided to place the developed technology within a company with a broader package of comparable services. VanBoven's service is a perfect complement to BioScope's existing portfolio.'

BioScope has extensive experience in solving grower issues using drone and satellite imagery. Tamme van der Wal and Arnout Goeman of BioScope are enthusiastic about the fact that the range of innovative services is now extended with this activity of VanBoven. They see opportunities in the area of services and further development of the technology.

Van der Wal: 'If you can more accurately determine where and when the crop is ready for harvest, you can better plan how to deploy people, and how many boxes you need and when exactly the vegetables will be on the market. With more detailed information you can optimise labour and logistics. The method has now been applied to 1,000 hectares of broccoli and we are exploring how we can expand it to other areas and other crops.'

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Valuable information

The data collected is analysed by VanBoven's smart software. The growth of each plant, head, and cabbage is accurately mapped out and compiled into reliable harvest predictions. Goeman: 'We are grateful to the VanBoven team for developing this service because it provides very valuable information for both growers and buyers. And we are pleased that we can extend BioScopes operations with the VanBoven harvest forecasting service.

 

More information can be found at bioscope.nl/vanboven