Managing the Temperatures of Sweet Potato Storehouses Remotely

Nakase Farm Co.,Ltd.'s president, Yasuyuki Nakase, kindly agreed to sit down with us and answer some questions.

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Using LiLz Gauge to remotely inspect sweet potato storehouse temperatures.

What led to you using LiLz Gauge?

Nakase: I adopted the service after we had an issue humidifying a sweet potato storehouse.

In order to make sweet potatoes that bit sweeter, you usually leave them in a storehouse for about half a year or so before shipping them to be sold. During this process, you need to keep an eye on three things: temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels. If these three factors aren't perfect, then you can't produce a quality product.

I remember one day a member of staff came to me saying there was some sort of mist leaking from a storehouse. When I went to check it out, it became apparent that the humidifier there had been working overtime. The device that was managing humidity levels was slightly removed from the storehouse in question, which meant it wasn't picking up the correct readings. This was when it became clear to me that we'd need a meter which could allow us to centrally monitor temperatures, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels all at once. That was right when I discovered LiLz Gauge.

What convinced you to go with LiLz Gauge?

Nakase: There were two things. One factor was the overall cost. The fees involved in buying the hardware for LiLz Gauge and actually using it are fairly low, and you don't need to do any extra work to install it; you can use it right out of the box.

The other thing which really sold me on LiLz Gauge was the fact you can install it more or less anywhere. I wanted to put it outside and have it read meters that were behind glass, but even so it was able to give me accurate readings. Being able to use several different types of mount for it is another positive, for sure.

How has LiLz Gauge helped?

Nakase: Usually when you install a new piece of equipment, there's a bunch of hurdles: getting to grips with its software, setting it up, and actually beginning to use it to name a few. I've had plenty of experiences in the past where these issues have prevented me from sticking with certain products. However, I found setting up LiLz Gauge to be very intuitive, which left me with a really favorable impression of the UI. I know that even if I needed to monitor a different gauge instead, I could easily detach the camera and set it up somewhere else.

Last, but not least, tell us a bit about your sweet potatoes!

Nakase: We pride ourselves on the fact that our potatoes have a higher sugar content than most; that's the secret as to why they keep their flavor for so long and why people like them.

Over the years, we've made use of our experience as well as research findings to limit the amounts of chemical fertilizer and pesticides we use while still ensuring we produce the sweetest potatoes possible. I really think that the way we control temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels is something that sets us apart from the competition too. We hope to continue growing delicious sweet potatoes by Mt. Aso for many years to come.

Yasuyuki was kind enough to show us around the farm as well. His farm is proof that you can even use LiLz Gauge in the great outdoors.