Listen to the podcast below to learn about Crop Controller and how growers experience working with AI.
In a recent radio interview with Hortibiz, Laurens van der Spek, COO and Co-founder of Blue Radix, shared how Autonomous Growing is reshaping the daily life of growers and helping them meet the increasing demands of modern horticulture. Blue Radix’s Crop Controller offers growers a new level of control in the greenhouse, using AI to continuously manage and optimize the greenhouse conditions.
Challenges in the greenhouse industry
Growers today face various challenges: limited resources, more data to analyze, and larger areas to manage—all while experienced growers become harder to find. “Greenhouses all over the world are currently facing these challenges. An important factor that growers mention is the declining rate of available resources. Additionally, the data growers have to delve into is rising, as well as the number of acres to be managed. This is a real challenge, especially considering that there is a declining number of growers with the right expertise”, Laurens mentions.
More control, fewer resources
Crop Controller helps growers manage more hectares with more control, requiring fewer resources. “Crop Controller assists growers in managing more acres, and they have a better sense of control. Also growers get better yield quality but at the same time, not spend too much time on doing the repetitive tasks all while having a better work-life balance.”
The human side of growing
Some growers worry that switching to AI solutions might take away the human side of growing, but Laurens sees it differently: “Working with Crop Controller does not replace the grower, it enables them to allocate more time to being in the greenhouse, with their crops and their colleagues, focusing on their strategic objectives. Crop Controller allows them to focus on growing, rather than spending time adjusting the climate computer settings.”
Reactive to proactive
He describes the shift as a move from reactive to proactive growing. “The grower does not have to change the settings of the climate computer every time but learn to trust the system as well as the experts of Blue Radix to predict the optimized settings in advance.” For those hesitant to adopt autonomous growing, Laurens offers reassurance: “We understand that it is a change for people, for this reason we take people by the hand. You always have the final say of what happens in the greenhouse. We will show that what is happening in the greenhouse is in line with the grower strategy and we will explain how it works.”
In the end, autonomous growing isn’t about giving up control—it’s about gaining more of it, while staying focused on what truly matters: growing.
