GrainsWest Fall 2019

Tech 2019 Grains West 12 THE FARMGATE NEARLY EVERYONE HAS HEARD of it, but almost nobody understands it. It has the potential to transform the way we manage supply chains, track and verify sustainability certifications, market and sell commodities and interact with consumers. Blockchain is more than a mere buzzword. Where agriculture meets digital currency, it has the potential to revolu- tionize the way we get our food from farm to fork. Before we can fully appreciate its applications in the agri-food sector, it is important to understand exactly what it is. While the technicalities of blockchain can be quite complex, its basic principles are fairly simple. Essentially, it is a new record-keeping mechanism that replaces double-ended bookkeeping and central- ized ledgers. It allows information to be stored on a distributed network that, by virtue of its design, renders the infor- mation unchangeable, permanent and instantly accessible to all parties involved. When applied to the agri-food sector, this innovation has profound implica- tions. Primary among these is increased transparency and traceability in the supply chain. In fact, a blockchain driven supply chain allows all participants— farmers, processors and consumers—to have complete and accurate information about products, from how and where they were grown to when and how they were processed. This is perhaps best understood by way of example, and we don’t have to look far afield for a real-world agri-food blockchain in action. Bock Chain beer, so named for the digital currency trial it represents and the German-style lager it is, was officially launched in Jasper on Feb. 1, 2019, as a collaboration between Hamill Farms, Canada Malting, Red Shed Malting, TE-FOOD and Last Best Brewing and Distilling. Its distribution incorporates blockchain technology to store and share the story of the beer’s transformation from field-grown grains to freshly brewed beverage. “It’s a beer that takes traceability to a pretty intense level, using blockchain technology to follow the barley from the farm, through the malthouse, through the roasting, to the brewing,” said Matt Hamill, co-owner of Red Shed Malting. For farmers such as the Hamills, this in- creased traceability through a blockchain means they can back up the claims they’ve made on production methods and locality by providing partners and end users with complete and verifiable information about their product. Beerandblockchain Supply chain partners test emerging technology Photos:CourtesyofHotShoeStudio TheQR code on this Bockchain beer can is a portal to the product’s story and an effective traceability tool. Last Best Brewing &Distilling head brewer Natasha Peiskar believes consumers are thirsty for such field-to-can information.