Progress notes, methods and design decisions.

Why saleable dry matter is our lead feed KPI

Hydroponic fodder can look impressive in fresh kilos: a tray of green biomass after a short cycle. But fresh mass is mostly water, and part of the seed’s dry matter is used up by the plant during sprouting. Add rejects, stabilisation, energy, labour and capital, and a fast cycle can still lose value.

That is why every batch is judged on released, saleable dry matter: what remains after losses and QA, at a known quality and cost. For food routes the equivalent is euro per kilogram of released saleable product.

What a Digital Batch Passport has to contain

A batch passport is only useful if it links the physical flow to quality and cost. Our minimum fields:

• input lot, supplier and certificate of analysis;
• recipe version and set-points;
• timestamped sensor values, alarms, deviations and operator actions;
• mass balance from seed dry matter to released output;
• water by class, kWh and peak demand;
• sampling plan, lab method, result and release status;
• delivery, customer outcome and complaints.

How we design a controlled pilot

Before the main comparison we fix the baseline, the trial arms, sample IDs, analysis methods and the decision criteria. Sequential batches show process capability; controlled comparisons show recipe effects; animal or food outcomes need their own studies. Results are reported with effect sizes and the system boundary used.

Horizon Europe Cluster 6 brokerage, Brussels

We joined the Cluster 6 brokerage event in Brussels to meet research and industry partners working on resilient, water- and nutrient-efficient agriculture. Follow-up conversations are ongoing; we will report collaborations here only once they are confirmed.