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LeafTrack, a Denver-based company, has developed an RFID-based tracking system to help producers meet the requirements of the US state government to track the growth environment of each plant and issue an alarm when the growth of the plant declines.
Two medical marijuana suppliers in Colorado, USA, use RFID systems (RFID radio frequency bulletin: developed by the Denver-based LeafTrack company) to track the health of plants during the growth process, and to meet the country’s requirements for the full tracking of drugs from seeds to users. strict requirements. Several other cannabis growers and manufacturers are also piloting the system. This system develops an observation window for each plant to track the growth and health of the plant. At the same time, it can track the production of cannabis until it becomes a consumer product. Patients buy medicines in various forms, for example, they can be incorporated into chocolate. Medical marijuana manufacturers can access relevant data through LeafTrack software, and consumers can access it through LeafTrack’s Findmary website. Government agencies (RFID radio frequency bulletin note: 17 US states and the District of Columbia, which currently has plans for medical marijuana), can also access information from LeafTrack software.
LeafTrack was established in 2010 to provide logistics services for the medical cannabis industry. The company purchases marijuana from growers, then transports these raw medicinal materials to the pharmacy, which will uniformly process them into medicines, and finally transport the final medicines to the pharmacy. In this process, growers are responsible for planting and managing cannabis until the leaves and buds are finally harvested. LeafTrack not only transports raw materials, but also sticks barcode labels on the packaging to help them track the flow of goods. Reid Hanson, the founder of eafTrack, said: However, with the introduction of new national policies, the company has gradually realized that the biggest demand for companies and countries is to trace products from the source of production to the end consumers. Therefore, the company withdrew from the logistics business and developed an RFID-based traceability system for medical marijuana suppliers.
At present, the main intended customers of this system company are medical marijuana dispensaries and growers across the country, including suppliers of high-value plants, such as saffron, and need to pay close attention to its growth process during the planting process.
Medical marijuana is legally produced and sold in many states, but must comply with government regulations. Julie Postlethwait, Public Information Officer of the Medical Marijuana Regulation Enforcement Department, said: In July this year, the Colorado tax department drafted regulations on medical cannabis, requiring the tracking of cannabis products from seed to sales, and said that the state will eventually require the use of EPC Gen 2 Ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID tags. She added that the government is currently working with Franwell (RFID radio frequency bulletin: a tracking technology provider) to develop an RFID system, which is expected to be completed early next year. Postlethwait said: At that time, the government will issue regulations on the implementation and use of UHF RFID systems. She pointed out that the Colorado tax department may recommend specific RFID systems or sell tags. She said: “Until the rules and regulations are introduced, the department does not recommend large-scale technology purchases to meet new requirements.”
Before using this system, cannabis growers provided information about plants to the Colorado authorities through paperwork, and the government regularly inspected the products after the products were put into storage. In the harvest season, unprocessed hemp material is often shipped to another producer for processing and selling the product. However, Colorado’s new law stipulates that 70% of product suppliers’ spot inventory must come from the same cannabis grower. The two product suppliers currently use the LeafTrack system to trace approximately 60,000 plants in a four-month cycle, serving up to 10,000 customers. LeafTrack customers are unwilling to disclose their names.
By using the LeafTrack system, the description (RFID radio frequency bulletin: planting conditions and date) and serial numbers of seedlings grown for several weeks are entered into the LeafTrack database for full life cycle tracking. LeafTrack company designed a plastic strip (RFID radio frequency bulletin: similar to the RFID wristband on the baby’s hand or foot in the nursery room), embedded with the EPC Gen 2 RFID tag produced by SK&T Integration. The plastic strip is provided by Precision Dynamic (PDC). The unique code of the embedded RFID is presented on the surface of the plastic strip in the form of text and barcode, so that the data can be read without using an RFID reader. As shown in the figure, the plastic tag is wrapped around the stem of the plant. The IP30 handheld reader and the running LeafTrack software are used to read the data through Intermec CN3. The scanned tag data is transmitted to the management backend, so that the tags and barcodes are encoded in the system Connected together.
Hanson said: intensive seed sowing during planting will cause multiple marijuana plants to grow together. Cannabis plants grow in greenhouses, which require high growth conditions. Not only need enough temperature and light, but also must be protected from insects and molds. Once a marijuana plant is infested by insects, it will spread to other plants within 24 hours, so dozens or more of them will be destroyed in a short period of time. Each marijuana plant is worth about US$500, so even the death of one plant will affect the company’s profits. Under the protection of this software, if any plant has a problem, an alarm will be issued immediately and the management department will be notified by e-mail.
Routine inspections are usually once a week or more frequently. When an employee checks or fertilizes, he or she only needs to hold the Intermec reader and determine whether all plants are under surveillance. If this is not the case, the reader will display the code of the missing plant, try to read the tag again or send a notification that the plant is missing. If one or more plants are found to be infected with pests, the employees read the label codes of these plants, and send the details of the problem and the photos of the affected plants to the background management via Wi-Fi or cellular connection, and then send an email to inform the manager .
In addition, the LeafTrack system has sensing functions to detect changes in temperature, light, soil pH and other factors that may affect plant health. These wired sensors installed in each greenhouse upload the above data to the LeafTrack software. If the conditions are unfavorable for the plants, the system will send out an alert via email. The company is also testing wireless solutions for independent sensor settings. RFID transponders provide sensor data from individual plants to track the conditions of the entire greenhouse. Hanson said: For example, if you reset the exhaust fan to bring the indoor temperature to 45 degrees, you can increase the yield of a single plant, and growers will benefit from this information.
During harvest, each plant is placed in a container. Paste a wet RFID tag (RFID radio frequency bulletin: provided by SK&T Integration) to each container and read it, so that the code of each plant tag is linked with the code of the container tag. After the container is transferred to the processing area, it is either roasted into another edible product or processed into tobacco. The product is finally packaged and formed, and an RFID label is attached, and the label code is printed on the outer packaging in the form of text and barcode. The label code is linked to the code of the container box and the plant.
LeafTrack’s Findmary.com website allows consumers to enter the number on the product’s RFID tag and view product-related information, which may include the growth process of the plant and the use of pesticides in the plant, and whether other ingredients are organic in nature. Such as eggs. (RFID radio frequency newsletter note: all these data are provided by the product supplier.)
In addition, the company reports that it can share data on the cultivation, processing, and sales of each plant with government agencies.
In the future, the Colorado state government plans to establish its own database to store details about the growth and harvest of each plant. He also pointed out that LeafTrack software can directly forward data to the database if necessary.
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