POST-HARVEST storage problems are estimated to cost the world as much as 20% of its crops.

Uncontrolled temperature and moisture levels in store lead to pests and mould, and it is a notoriously difficult job to measure both, given the depth and weight of grain involved. But a new Innovate UK-funded project is tackling the problem, developing the first robotic device able to safely sample grain from deep down in store, enabling early detection of potential spoilage so that steps can be taken to reduce losses and maintain quality

The 'Crover' robot is the work of technology start-up Crover Ltd, developed with help from the Agri-EPI Centre and East of Scotland Farmers, with trials planned over the next 18 months in Perth and Kinross, at a farm in Northumberland, and within Agri-EPI’s network of partner farms. The project is being supported with £250,000 of Innovate UK funding.

Crover’s managing director, Lorenzo Conti, explained: “Post-harvest losses have serious financial impacts for cereal storage sites such as farms, grain merchants, millers and breweries. But they also have significant social and environmental consequences, which are becoming ever more even more pressing due to threats such as increasing global food demand, intense price volatility, and harvest unpredictability due to climate change.

"Four and a half billion people per year are exposed to dangerous mycotoxins from grain moulds which contaminate 25% of the world's food supply. The carbon footprint from cereal storage losses equates to 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions from food waste," said Mr Conti.

“Like a plane’s wings in air, or a boat's rotor in water, the patented technology behind our Crover robot allows it to fluently 'swim' through bulk solids, like cereals and grains, monitoring their condition while they are still in storage and without leaving any grain unchecked. Our aim is to improve grain storage systems, helping to build the resilience of the grain supply chain and the wider global food system.”

Agri-EPI chief executive Dave Ross said: “Cereal grains are the basis of staple food, yet post-harvest losses during long-term storage are significant and high. Through this new and very exciting collaboration, the partners will blend their technological and industry expertise to investigate how the Crover can respond to that challenge by working effectively in commercial grain storage sites, with potentially huge benefits to the agri-food industry and wider society.”

General Manager of East of Scotland Farmers, Robin Barron, said: “We have a special interest in obtaining representative samples from silos and stores full of malting barley, so that we can accurately assess their recovery from dormancy before being dispatched to maltster customers.”

Speaking from Innovate UK, agri-tech centre policy lead, Ian Cox, said: “Innovate UK is pleased to have been able to support this innovative and exciting project. It has the potential to deliver significant impact in terms of improving food safety and security as well as helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions."