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“As a seed company, it’s important for our plants to grow to their best potential for germination rate and quality. The Nature’s Data system is a great tool for knowing what’s going on in our fields, ensuring growth is going well and acting on any growth impairments”
Meet Carlotta Canavesio, President of Assocanapa Association NPO, and a collaborator with Assocanapa Srl, in Italy. Assocanapa is one of Italy’s oldest seed associations, established in 1998 in Carmagnola, a town famous for the production of hemp seed. We teamed up with Carlotta last year to undertake a field trial on one of Assocanapa Srl’s contracted farms in Northern Italy. Like us at Nature’s Data, Carlotta is a big fan of hemp, nature and all things data – a perfect fit!
Having wound up our first year of trials together, we caught up with Carlotta to find out why she was initially interested in using the Nature’s Data platform, why she believes data is so important for hemp growing, and how our tool can enhance her business operations.
Collaboration and communication are key to us at Nature’s Data, and qualities we bring to all our relationships. We worked closely with the farmer and Carlotta during the trial, with regular feedback sessions, reviews and chances to exchange comments and queries.
Developing the Nature’s Data system would not have been possible without the partnerships we forged with experts in this space, from soil to seed. Farmers have always led what we do – and continue to lead our evolution. We are proud to have developed a smart system, fine tuned for hemp, alongside global hemp farmers.
Carlotta, can you tell us why you were interested in using the Nature’s Data platform?
Despite the farming knowledge we’ve gathered over the years, still, many times we have had no way of knowing what was actually happening in the fields until we saw the end result. For us, growing for seed, it’s important for the plants to grow to their best potential for germination rates and quality of seed. So we needed to find new ways, rather than just traditional farmers’ knowledge, to be able to understand what the best growing conditions for our varieties of hemp are.
What kind of conditions impact germination rates and how can data help with this?
Hemp is a highly resilient plant and can resist droughts and such, but particularly in the flowering stage and the early germination stage, big imbalances of water in the soil can really impact the amount of seed you’re going to be able to grow and the germination rate. If we can measure some of these parameters – nitrogen concentration, light exposure etc. – against others like growing density and sowing density, we can have a clever understanding of what to adjust to ensure optimum germination rates.
Why is it important for a farmer to be able to monitor metrics like soil moisture, nutrient levels and climatic conditions?
Nutrient levels are really important because unless you spend hundreds on soil testing, you don’t have any way to know how much of the fertiliser you put in the soil is being retained. Having a quick, precise reading of the soil helps us to immediately understand if anything is lacking or if conditions are good and we don’t need to add any extra fertiliser.
We always look to reduce inputs and water usage – otherwise the whole point of growing hemp crumbles!
Now, with the climate changing so much and swinging from drought to monsoon, it’s important for us to know absolutely what is going on in the terrain and if the crop has enough water to grow or germinate. Weather is very important. If you have accurate weather forecasts close to your field, you can avoid making mistakes – like irrigating the soil and it raining the day after. And with hemp too much water is not a mistake you want to make!
Having data that spans the whole growth of the plant means if at any stage the growth slows down, we can know for certain what is going on weather-wise, sunwise and in the soil.
What have you learnt since working with Nature’s Data?
Business wise, it’s really helpful, especially for people like us that do not own the fields but subcontract farmers to grow for us – it was a chance for us to monitor what’s going on in the fields we contracted. It’s a great tool to know what’s going on and to check that growth is going well from far away.For the farmers, it gives them a comfortable feeling of knowing exactly what is going on in the field.
How has your experience of working with Nature’s Data been?
It’s been amazing. The team was super communicative and gave us all the tools to access our data as and when we needed it.
And you asked for feedback which is great because all of the tools have really been developed with farmers, for farmers, rather than just being dropped on the market with no development!
What are you excited about for the future?
I’m really excited about all the new features and expanding on the Italian territory, having hectares all over the region, I’m really looking forward to being able to collect data in different parts, under different conditions, and for the first time, bring in new knowledge on what is necessary to grow great seeds and great plants.
What would you say to someone considering joining the Nature’s Data platform?
For businesses like ours, who are contracting to others, it’s absolutely a great tool to have, especially if you’re really willing to put in the effort to improve your quality. Hemp is booming and entering the market. Now, it’s not just about producing hemp, but quality hemp.
If you’re a big farmer or company, it’s the best way to monitor if you just can’t get into the fields every day. So, I’d say it’s absolutely something to get onto! And Nature’s Data is very collaborative so you’re not just left to sort out for yourself what you’re looking at. It’s a really great tool.