Food Security Cross Campus Initiative
Status Report, September 5, 2003
Executive Summary
Deere and Company plans to support the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in development of the Food Security Cross Campus Initiative. The partnership that was proposed stems from a workshop held between University faculty and Deere executives in April 2003. Three working groups were identified forming the basis for the three group proposals: Business Valuation, Identity Retention, and Sensing Technologies. Therefore much of the effort within the FSI over the past 6 months has focused on development of this partnership.
Deere has suggested support in two phases over the next year. In phase one, Deere suggested a support level of $150,000-200,000, generally coinciding with the first semester of the 2003-04 academic year and Deere's 2003 Fiscal Year. In phase two, Deere suggested a target level of support of approximately $500,000, coinciding with their 2004 and 2005 Fiscal Years, and the University's 2003-04 second semester and summer term and through the Fall 2004 semester.
The three group proposals bring together faculty from multiple units across the campus and leverage existing expertise to approach specific Food Security related issues. Just as important, however, is recognition that information generated from these projects will have "spin-off" value to the food and agricultural production system. This initiative with Deere is the first step in building a Cross-Campus virtual center focused on a wide range of security issues with food, which will also benefit and support the new Homeland Security programs being developed at UIUC.
Business Valuation Group:
Investigators:
William Qualls, Business Administration, CCBA
Noshir Contractor, Speech Communication, LAS
Peter Goldsmith, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, ACES
Hamish Gow, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, ACES and CCBA
Bruce Hannon, Geography, LAS
Joost Pennings, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, ACES
Laurian Unnevehr, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, ACES
Proposal:
Our current knowledge regarding our understanding of the value of security throughout the food supply chain is limited. In order to fill that void, the research program proposed for the time period September 2003-August 2004 will consist of two phases. Phase one will consist primarily of collecting data while phase two will focus on building models to predict supply chain effects under different environmental, market and industry conditions. Specifically, we will begin by collecting information to build a business value model of safety and security in the soy food industry supply chain.
Objectives:
- Develop value stream maps for the soy industry with one focal firm located in the state of Illinois.
- Identify key success factors to serve as metrics to evaluate business outcomes.
- Identify critical points along the supply train for testing, tracking, and managing product and information flows.
- Secure commitments from value chain participants and develop a case study as foundation for building business valuation and risk measurement models.
- Validate models of business valuation.
A multidisciplinary research task force with faculty drawn from the colleges of: Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences; Business; Communication; and Liberal Arts and Sciences will conduct a series of research projects to achieve the above research goals. A two-phase study for the 2003-2004 academic year will focus on developing a risk benefit business valuation model of safety and security in the food supply chain.
The proposed research project will start by collecting information that will serve as a foundation for each of the three food security research thrusts cross campus food security initiative. Phase one of the proposed study will focus on collecting information through a case study approach. The soy food industry will be the initial field of inquiry. An Illinois company will serve as the focal company for the case study. Simulated business models will be developed and then validate during the first year of the research program.
Research Approach:
Figure 1 provides an overview of the proposed framework that will guide the research study.
As illustrated Phase one will consist of three integrated studies; 1) Value Stream Mapping, 2) Case Study, and 3) Business Economic Modeling, while Phase two will focus on: 1) Validating business economic models, 2) Demand Analysis Modeling, and 3) Specifying the supply chain infrastructure and network relationships.
Identity Retention Group:
Investigators:
Robert H. Hornbaker, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, ACES
Placid M. Ferreira, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, COE
Udatta S. Palekar, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, COE
David Pointer, Experimental Technologies Group, NCSA
Karen L. Bender, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, ACES
Objectives:
- Investigate the use of network and industrial engineering models for quality control of individual food processors.
- Investigate the suitability of models developed in other industries for tracking agricultural products through the supply chain.
- Outline alternative tracking system designs that would support the processor and supply chain system.
- Evaluate standards in other systems and refine data standards and coding for the identity retention tracking system.
Research Approach:
Phase 1: (August to December 2003)
Identify network and industrial engineering models to ascertain required features and feasibility of models for use by individual food processors.
Evaluate models used within pharmaceutical, aerospace and food manufacturing industries to identify elements that are suitable for the agri-supply chain. The study will consider the data requirements; process intrusion; and the extensibility of the models to determine elements that can be borrowed from these industries.
Outline required components of a supply chain tracking system and data standards to support the tracking system and individual processor quality control considerations.
Phase 2: (January 1 to December, 2004)
Design, implement and evaluate diagnosable processor network models for the selected pilot processor.
Apply the selected model to a prototypical supply chain. Develop preliminary mathematical models to determine optimal placement of monitoring stations; models for back calculating the likelihood of product originating form a certain source based on end-product characteristics and models for traceability given the LP models used for optimal blending.
Test the proposed tracking data standards and system for selected pilot processor and producer(s) during the 2004 crop production season. Evaluate the traceability of characteristic or traits using the designed standards and data coding system.
Sensing Technology Group:
Investigators:
Geoffrey Dahl, Animal Sciences, ACES
Gregory Timp, Computer and Electrical Engineering, COE
Matthew Wheeler, Animal Sciences, ACES
Ilesanmi Adesida, Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, COE
Background:
Animal identification and temperature monitoring ranked as a priority for sensing effort at April, 2003, meeting of FSCCI and Deere. Collaborating with SAIC and Phase IV Engineering (Boulder, CO) on testing of a remote sensing system currently being marketed to dairy producers, the system involves an intraruminal bolus coded with a unique ID number and internal body temperature recording.
Limitations of the system include 1) little rigorous on-farm testing in a production environment, especially related to disease (mastitis, metritis); 2) limited data summarization and reduction software for decision making, and 3) no ability to transfer the system to other production species of interest (e.g. swine, poultry).
Objectives:
- Install system and evaluate capacity for data collection under controlled production setting particularly with regard to temperature monitoring for disease.
- With SAIC, develop algorithm(s) for reduction and summarization of real-time physiological data from individual animals.
- Continue development of micrometer scale devices for identification and monitoring of all livestock species.
Research Approach:
Using an induced fever model (LPS) and mastitis model (S. uberis) determine capacity for real-time temperature monitoring of animals remotely in a production setting. Use estrus temperature elevation and naturally occurring mastitis as models for identification of individual animals within a production group at specific times. These data become the basis for development of summarization/reduction algorithms in collaboration with SAIC.
In addition, we will continue with construction of micrometer scale RFID devices that would eventually replace the intraruminal boluses. Because of their small size (100 ?m2), these devices are suitable not only to ruminants but swine and poultry as well. The devices are constructed of silicon, have passive electronics, and have unique identification and temperature reading capacities. The software developed in the initial phase should be easily transferred to use with the new, smaller devices.