b"Solving the Potato Storage BlindspotOnce potatoes are harvested and go into storage, the conditions can be unknown.BY: REBECCA CARMELI-PESLAKAFTER ALL THE TIME thats put intoof the storage season. Putting technology planting, growing and harvesting hundredsin an environment like that is not very of acres of potatoes, that crop then goes intocooperative, explains Culberson. storage where facility conditions can put itOnce the Cellar Insights team was able at risk of rot and shrink. Ross Culberson,to identify technology that could work and Cellar Insights co-founder and a potatowithstand that type of harsh environment, it grower in Carleton County, N.B. saw awas left with its next biggest hurdle of what knowledge gap in this production cycle, soparameters should be monitored?he created the Cellar Insights platform toThis year we are starting off with the reduce the number of unknowns when itbasics of temperature, humidity, and carbon comes to potato storage.dioxide, says Culberson, explaining what Im taking 100 acres of production andcan be monitored through the 2023/24 putting it under one roof, says Culberson.storage season pilot program. We're doing I want to do everything I can to protectongoing research on what will be the next it. I used to be (held) hostage (all day) toparameter. Spoilage risk assessment is our Ross Culberson, Cellar Insights co-founder managing that risk (as a potato grower).focus. and a potato grower in Carleton County, N.B.Now Im only doing it in just a few minutesCurrently, not all growers have remote each day. monitoring in their potato storage facilities Cellar Insights uses technology tosuch as a modern ventilation system with remotely monitor potato storage conditions.remote access control. There are many By using sensors in the storage facilities,facilities that dont have internet capabilities growers can watch for any conditions ofas part of their functions either. CellarI want to doconcernthis monitoring is done throughInsights basic pilot program brings theireverything I can to a phone app.facilities up to speed with access to modern Without monitoring technology, I wouldremote monitoring. Culberson feels theres aprotect it.be visiting at least twice a day to check thelot of potential for wireless sensing in potatoI used to be (held) temperature and carbon dioxide levels,storages but narrowing down what to usehostage (all day) to shares Culberson. To watch for potentialthose sensors to monitor takes time.spoilage issues within the storage, you go inWere always in conversation withmanaging that riskand basically sniff the building with yourgrowers, says Culberson. You have to be(as a potato grower). nose, using your past experience to assess thewilling to stand up in front of them and risk within the building. say, Hey, maybe there's something here.Now Im only doing itHaving accurate data on facilityLet's try this. Then, with pilot participants,in just a few minutes conditions was a blind spot in the potatoobserve closely how they use the data, whateach day. production process and Culberson wantedthey value, how they see it will help protect a more data driven approachhe createdtheir crop value. ROSS CULBERSONCellar Insights to solve this issue. However,For the 2023/24 storage season pilot it hasnt always been smooth sailingprogram Cellar Insights is working with for the Cellar Insights team during the25 growers to improve the monitoring development process. technology by growing the parameters Potato storage is one of the harshestits using. Cellar Insights plans to be environments on the planet. We have windcommercially available in Canada for the speeds from our fans that we try to maintain2024 storage season and 2025 in the United and 98 per cent humidity for 10 monthsStates.38SPUDSMART.COMFall 2023"