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xFarm supports companies, consortia and associations in the agribusiness sector in designing and implementing digital transformation paths through customized solutions.
Recently, we started a close collaboration with the most important truffle company in Italy and the world: Urbani Tartufi. With this article, we would like to introduce you to the Urbani Tartufi Group and its path toward the emergence of a sustainable, digitized supply chain that is in step with the demands of the market and institutions.
The Urbani Group has a six-generation history. In fact, in 1852, the founder of the Urbani family, Costantino Urbani, began offering his fresh truffles in France. From generation to generation, sales expanded both in Italy and in the European and international markets.
To date, the Urbani Tartufi Group-which has since given birth to the Urbani Funghi division and several entities including the Truffle Museum and the Truffle Academy-maintains its headquarters in Sant'Anatolia di Narco, in the province of Perugia, where 150 employees work, and has several other locations in Italy and abroad, where it operates as "Urbani Truffles."
Pioneers of Italian truffle farming, but also entrepreneurs and innovators: in fact, the current generation at the helm of the Urbani Group, with Francesco Loreti Urbani, holds the lead role in the first truffle supply chain. Through the involvement of local entrepreneurs and farms and thanks to the 2014-2022 rural development program of the Umbria Region, 400 hectares will be converted to truffle farming. Through Truffleland - the nursery company started by the young people of the Urbani family, specializing in the production of mycorrhized plants - aspiring truffle growers can receive advice and support in the start-up of truffle-growing activities and throughout the entire production cycle, with a guarantee of purchasing the product from Urbani Tartufi. This is a real breakthrough for the entire sector, which will increase production and product quality, generating new income and diversification opportunities for farms.
A supply chain of excellence such as that of truffles requires a variety of precautions: from the use of certified mycorrhized plants to the careful management of irrigation for optimal development of the fruiting body of the fungus. It is precisely in the development of this supply chain that xFarm has made its expertise available, launching a project for the complete digitization of the entire supply chain. In fact, the project includes the introduction of advanced digital technologies for agronomic management and product traceability.
The technique of truffle production involves the establishment of truffle farms, or plants dedicated to truffle cultivation. Truffles are the product of the symbiotic relationship established between an ascomycete fungus and a mycorrhized plant. Therefore, planting plants with mycorrhized roots is the first step in establishing a truffle plant. Oak(Quercus robur), Holm oak(Quercus ilex) are some of the most common species of symbiont plants in addition to hazelnut(Corylus avellana), black pine(Pinus nigra) and hornbeam(Ostrya carpinifolia), while summer truffle(Tuber aestivum) and winter truffle(Tuber melanosporum Vitt.) are among the most famous and market-demanded types of truffles.
Regarding the agronomic management of the plants, special attention should be given to irrigation: for the symbiont plants and fruiting bodies of truffles to grow and develop properly, strict control of irrigation interventions is necessary. Since water turns out to be the main input needed for production, proper and efficient management helps to maintain high quality standards, efficiency and environmental sustainability.
To support truffle growers, xFarm will provide the appropriate app complete with the irrigation module: through the interpretation of data from sensors in the field, the decision support system will calculate irrigation requirements and suggest the best times to irrigate, optimizing the number of interventions and their efficiency. In addition, it will be possible to manage interventions by also establishing the activation times of the irrigation systems and visualize the raw data used to calculate irrigation recommendations, for a comprehensive understanding of the water situation of the plots.
To support companies that are part of the supply chain in adopting increasingly sustainable agricultural practices, xFarm will provide the platform Analytics, which is capable of calculating environmental and production impact through the use of various tailored indicators. In addition, the platform will be able to suggest the most appropriate agronomic interventions in order to reduce environmental impact.Various stakeholders and technical staff will be able to monitor farms and data from sensors connected to them in real time and in a comprehensive manner. This valuable information on weather trends, yields at various production sites, and activities carried out by farmers will help the supply chain in making better decisions to achieve new standards of efficiency and sustainability.
For us at xFarm, the emergence of a new supply chain has to be considered excellent news: in fact, supply chains are increasingly becoming a point of reference for farmers, contributing to the development of the sector, increasing product quality and income for producers. Technology can be of great help in this regard, oiling the gears that enable the sharing of information among the different actors and allowing the supply chain leaders and producers themselves to make data-driven decisions, thus better decisions, benefiting the entire supply chain.
The experience of the Urbani Tartufi Group shows how it is possible to reconcile an important family history and tradition with the introduction of new technologies into companies and supply chains.
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