Betafeld

🎄 Celebrating the Holiday Season at Betafeld! 🎄 As the year draws to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the fantastic opportunities that have shaped 2024 for Betafeld. From exciting developments to meaningful partnerships, this year has been one of growth, collaboration, and innovation. Christmas is not just about the decorations, gifts, and festivities—it's about connection, gratitude, and giving back. We’re incredibly grateful to our team members, collaborators, and supporters for trusting us and contributing to our success. Thank you for being part of our MatLoop journey! Your belief in our mission drives us to reach new heights—and we can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish in the year ahead. Looking forward, we’re filled with excitement for what’s on the horizon. 2025 promises to be a year of bold ideas, new opportunities, and continued commitment to delivering excellence. From all of us at Betafeld, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here’s to a bright future filled with possibility and success. 🌟 #Betafeld #MatLoop #Christmas2024 #Gratitude #MerryChristmas #ThankYou

💔 Food Waste and Farmer Hardship: The Hidden Cost of Rejection Due to Aesthetic Standards 🍎🥕 Did you know that 20-40% of fresh produce never leaves the farm, rejected for being the "wrong" size, shape, or color? Perfectly edible fruits and vegetables end up discarded because they don’t meet strict aesthetic standards set by retailers—despite being just as nutritious. This rejection stems from retail standards that prioritize visual perfection to satisfy consumer preferences. Blemished apples, misshapen carrots, or oddly sized tomatoes are often deemed unsellable and rejected by produce buyers, resulting in an estimated 6 billion pounds of produce wasted annually in the U.S. alone. Globally, the FAO reports that 14% of food loss happens between harvest and retail, much of it due to visual culling of items. For farmers, this means devastating financial losses. A case study found that 87% of undamaged, edible tomatoes from one farm were rejected for appearance alone. Simply because they were marred, slightly odd-shaped, or outside of size standards (i.e., too big or too small). Farmers work hard to grow food, only to see much of their harvest discarded—not for quality, but for looks. Betafeld is on a mission to change this. We can fight waste, support farmers, and build a more sustainable food system by facilitating the connection between producers and buyers on MatLoop, our innovative marketplace where surplus and aesthetically imperfect produce can be sold to reduce food loss. Come join us on this revolutionary journey! #betafeld #matloop #AI4good #fightingfoodloss #sustainableagriculture #circularsupplychains

📢 Let's Talk About Food Loss This Holiday Season 🍂🥧 The holiday season is a time for celebrating togetherness and those we love, but it’s also when food loss and waste skyrocket. Every year, millions of pounds of food go uneaten, even as we prepare to share bountiful meals with family and friends. Here’s why: 🍗 Over-preparation: We often make more food than we need. 🥖 Forgotten Leftovers: Delicious dishes end up in the trash instead of being repurposed. 🥬 Perishable Ingredients: Fresh produce, dairy, and meats spoil before use. This year, let’s take steps to reduce food waste and make our holidays more sustainable: ✨ Plan Ahead: Make realistic shopping lists to avoid overbuying. 🍽️ Portion Wisely: Serve smaller portions and encourage seconds if people are still hungry. 🍲 Love Your Leftovers: Get creative with next-day recipes or freeze extras for later. 🤝 Share the Love: Donate surplus food to local shelters or food banks. By being mindful, we can enjoy a feast and make a positive impact. 🌎💚 How do YOU plan to reduce food waste this holiday? Share your tips below! ⬇️ At Betafeld, we are on a mission to combat food loss and revolutionize the agricultural supply chain, paving the way for a more sustainable future. Join us in driving this transformative change—together, we can make a real difference! #HolidayTips #ReduceFoodWaste #SustainableHolidays #FightingFoodLoss #ClosedLoopAgriculture

The U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions 2023 Milestones Report details the progress made by participating businesses and organizations in reducing food loss and waste within their operations. The initiative, spearheaded by the USDA and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), aims to cut food waste by 50% by 2030 as part of broader efforts to promote resource conservation, reduce environmental impacts, and address food insecurity. The report showcases the accomplishments of "2030 Champions," which include major companies like General Mills, Conagra Brands, Starbucks, and Tyson Foods. Highlights from the 2023 report include: ・Innovative Approaches: Businesses have adopted methods like advanced inventory management, composting, and using surplus food for donations or animal feed. For example, Tyson Foods focuses on supply chain optimization, and Starbucks continues expanding its FoodShare donation program. ・Environmental Impact: Many champions have diverted significant food waste from landfills to create compost or biofuels, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. ・Food Donation: Surplus food has been redistributed to food banks and charitable organizations, contributing to hunger relief efforts. The initiative demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships in tackling systemic issues like food waste and highlights best practices for sustainable operations. For more details, explore the complete milestones report on the USDA or EPA websites. MatLoop’s innovative technology will improve the handling of U.S. harvests and reduce food loss in the early stages of the supply chain—a much-needed step toward meeting the U.S. 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction goal! Join the revolution towards a greener future, where cutting-edge technology combats food loss and cultivates a healthier planet! https://lnkd.in/gTzKwMTF #betafeld #matloop #ai4good #farmlevelfoodloss #reducingfoodloss

Several effective strategies can help reduce food loss at farms. First, embracing "ugly" produce can make a significant impact. Often, fruits and vegetables with minor cosmetic flaws are discarded despite being perfectly edible. However, supporting campaigns that promote these less-than-perfect items can help change consumer perception and reduce waste, offering a promising solution. Additionally, farms can mix standard and “ugly” produce into bunches, making it easier to market without deep discounts. Diving a little deeper into this…Ohio State University research highlights the importance of reducing food waste by giving "ugly" produce a chance. Each year, large quantities of fruits and vegetables with minor cosmetic flaws are discarded at the farm level despite being nutritionally sound. Changing consumer perceptions to accept imperfect produce can significantly reduce this waste. The study suggests that combining "ugly" and standard-looking items in grocery packaging and promoting farmers' markets, where consumers are more accepting of natural imperfections, could improve sales. By increasing the marketability of such produce, farms can minimize food loss directly at the source, making food systems more sustainable. Supporting strategies that improve the consumer use of cosmetically flawed produce and innovative technologies, like Betafeld’s MatLoop, can go a long way toward creating a sustainable food system and cutting food loss right at the source. https://lnkd.in/dDaDWqAj #betafeld #matloop #reducingfarmlevelfoodloss #circularsupplychains #closedloopagriculture #AI4good

Unpredictable weather leads to significant farm-level food loss by affecting crop yield, quality, and harvest timing. Droughts, floods, heatwaves, and unexpected frosts or hail damage plants, reducing quantity and market quality. These weather extremes can either stunt growth or lead to issues like mold, rot, and physical damage, making produce unsuitable for sale. Unpredictable conditions also disrupt ideal harvest windows, leaving some crops unharvested if labor or machinery cannot be scheduled flexibly or within short notice. Erratic weather can also boost pest and disease populations, reducing yields or damaging crops so they no longer meet aesthetic standards for sale. Inconsistent yields also affect supply chains; weather delays can lead to spoilage and missed market opportunities, resulting in financial losses. To mitigate these effects, farmers often grow more food than they anticipate selling, then end up with a surplus when demand drops, or market prices aren’t high enough. Matloop can help farmers reduce farm-level food loss from overproduction due to unpredictable weather. Our platform can lead to significant financial benefits by enabling more efficient surplus management and decision-making. Farmers can quickly find potential buyers and conduct transactions, optimizing storage availability, scheduling, and transit routes to minimize loss. Matloop provides a safety net. This quick redistribution prevents produce loss by offering immediate outlets when excess occurs due to favorable or unexpected weather changes. With Matloop, you can take control of your surplus and reduce food loss. Join us in this revolutionary transformation! #matloop #betafeld #fightingfarmlevelfoodloss #closedloopagriculture #circularsupplychains #AI4good

🚀 Curious About MatLoop? 🚀 We get many questions about what MatLoop can do for producers and bioproduct businesses, and we’re here to share some answers! Here are a few of our most frequently asked questions: 1️⃣ What is MatLoop and what does it do? MatLoop is a revolutionary marketplace designed to mitigate farm-level food loss. Using AI and prescriptive analytics, our cutting-edge platform – MatLoop – connects growers, cold storage facilities, trucking companies, and buyers within the bioproducts industry, establishing a transparent marketplace for USDA Grade 1 produce, aesthetically imperfect and surplus fruits and vegetables and creating a closed-loop supply chain. MatLoop is more than a platform to sell and buy goods. It is a marketplace committed to a transformative journey toward a sustainable tomorrow. Each purchase empowers farmers, generates social value, and puts us closer to sustainable communities. 2️⃣ How does Matloop's marketplace work? MatLoop's marketplace directly connects 🔗 growers with commercial produce buyers (food, beverage, animal food, cosmetic brands, and biorefineries) to facilitate the purchase of all grades of produce direct-from-farm. 🚜 3️⃣ What types of produce does Matloop sell? The MatLoop marketplace accepts all types of produce, including off-grade and surplus. This encompasses USDA Grade 1, USDA Grade 1 Surplus, and USDA Grade 2. By creating an all-encompassing marketplace to buy and sell all kinds of produce, MatLoop offers even more market insights. Our technology will help prevent Grade 1 produce from being lost due to a lack of market opportunities while mitigating the loss of off-grade and surplus fruits and vegetables. 🍐 🍓 🥒 Do you have more questions ❓ Post them below or check out our website's Frequently Asked Questions page! https://betafeld.com/FAQs #betafeld #matloop #AI4good #reducingfarmlevelfoodloss #sustainableagriculture #circularsupplychains #closedloopagriculture

AI is revolutionizing the food supply chain, enhancing efficiency, sustainability, cost savings, and more intelligent decision-making. 🚜 Precision Farming: AI empowers farmers with the tools to analyze soil conditions, monitor crops, and optimize water, fertilizers, and pesticide use. This control reduces environmental impact by minimizing waste and inputs, making farmers more capable and efficient. ⛈ Sustainable Agriculture: AI helps address sustainability challenges by optimizing resources and reducing food waste. By forecasting weather patterns and disease outbreaks, AI can help farmers plan better and reduce weather damage to crops and the overuse of pesticides and water, thus contributing to sustainable farming practices. 🚚 Improved Supply Chain Efficiency: AI-driven algorithms can forecast demand, track inventory, and manage logistics. These capabilities help reduce food waste by improving the timing and distribution of products. 🚫 Reduction in Food Waste: AI plays a pivotal role in reducing food waste by predicting spoilage, optimizing storage conditions, and improving inventory management. This gives us hope for a future where unsold products are minimized, and food waste is significantly reduced. At Betafeld, we're leading this supply chain transformation with our innovative Matloop technology. By harnessing the power of AI, we're not just creating innovative food management systems but also inspiring a sustainable future for the food industry. Join us in building a better future for the food industry—where waste is significantly reduced, and farmers see increased revenue from selling "imperfect" produce. 🌱 Discover the efficiency of Matloop technology by visiting our website: www.betafeld.com #BetaFeld #MatLoop #SmartFarming #SustainableAgriculture #AIinAg #FoodManagement #ZeroWaste #ImperfectProduce #Agritech

"Food crime" is a broad category of illegal activities related to producing, distributing, or selling food. It encompasses a wide range of fraudulent practices that can compromise food products' safety, quality, authenticity, and integrity while violating criminal, civil, administrative, or regulatory laws in the food industry. Each supply chain step offers food crime opportunities, including the production level. - Mislabeling the origin of produce, stating it comes from a premium region when produced elsewhere to collect premium prices. - Producing crops with conventional methods and falsely labeling them as organic or non-GMO to capitalize on higher market prices without adhering to stricter standards. - Overproducing crops or falsifying production reports to claim higher government subsidies. When found to be fraudulent, this leads to food that cannot legally be sold. - Labor abuses and worker exploitation, such as through wage theft or slavery. MatLoop can play a pivotal role in mitigating food crime at the farm level while simultaneously reducing farm-level food waste through the following strategies: 1. Enhanced Traceability with Advanced Tracking Technologies MatLoop can implement advanced tracking systems to create immutable records that ensure the origin and journey of food products are accurately documented. This transparency makes it challenging for bad actors to misrepresent the source, quality, or production methods of food, reducing opportunities for fraud. 2. Food Authentication and Anti-Adulteration Measures Using material science and advanced verification processes, MatLoop can confirm the authenticity of food products and verify compliance with certification standards. This helps mitigate food crimes associated with false certification and mislabeling. 3. Reducing Farm-Level Food Waste MatLoop’s traceability and authentication measures can prevent the unnecessary disposal of entire batches of produce caused by false or incomplete record-keeping or misrepresentation of origin. By leveraging these technologies, MatLoop can strengthen transparency and trust within the food supply chain, ensuring safer, more authentic food production while minimizing waste and fraud. #matloop #betafeld #AI4good #circularsupplychain #closedloopagriculture #reducingfarmlevelfoodloss

🌟 Exciting News for Betafeld! 🌟 We are thrilled to announce that Betafeld has been accepted into the prestigious NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program! 🎉 This is a pivotal milestone as we work toward accelerating innovation with MatLoop, bringing cutting-edge solutions to the agricultural supply chain that address farm-level food waste. The I-Corps program will provide us with the resources, mentorship, and support needed to enhance our customer discovery process and refine our business model. It’s an incredible opportunity to deepen our understanding of market needs and scale our technology more effectively. 🚀 Why this matters: The NSF I-Corps program is known for fostering innovation by helping startups and entrepreneurs commercialize their technologies. Acceptance into this program gives Betafeld access to a national network of experts, researchers, and industry leaders who will help guide our journey toward market success. We're deeply grateful to our dedicated team and supporters for their invaluable contributions to this achievement. We’re excited to take full advantage of this opportunity to propel Betafeld’s growth and continue delivering impactful solutions that drive change. 💡 https://lnkd.in/eNp6rJav #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #ICorps #NSF #CustomerDiscovery #Technology #Betafeld #Startups #Growth #betafeld #matloop #AI4good #fightingfarmlevelfoodloss #circularsupplychains Ellen MacArthur Foundation