In this newsletter:

– Where to meet ABS during the coming period?
– “ABS 25 Years, Part III: From 2006 to 2015”, focusing on a period of new management, third-party software acquisition and international expansion.
– ABS Breeding: Parent Tree Update
– ABS Service Desk – 2-Factor Authentication Update
– Track and Trace in Seed Production: Enhancing Transparency and Quality
– ABS Breeding App – Upcoming Release

Where to meet ABS during the coming period?

• Seed Meets Technology in Zwaagdijk, September 24-26
• Euroseeds Congress In Copenhagen, October 13-16
• ABS Seed userday, November 19

“ABS 25 Years, Part III: From 2006 to 2015”, focusing on a period of new management, third-party software acquisition and international expansion.

By 2006, HAPit experienced significant growth in customers, staff, and revenue. To support this progress, management recognized the need for additional expertise, organization, and strategy. They remained focused on developing the ABS solution, and in 2007, Mr. Wouter van Stuyvesant Meijen, the current CEO of ABS, joined the team to help drive this next phase.

Over the following years, HAPit continued to grow, establishing new structures, dedicated departments, and doubling its staff once again. In 2010, the company acquired two software solutions, Qseed and Seedbase. By 2012 ABS opened an office in Hyderabad, India, for sales and development. In 2015, HAPit expanded to Canada to offer live support in the Americas during local office hours.

As the company’s profile became clearer in the global seed breeding and multiplication market, the decision was made to rebrand. The name changed from HAPit to Agro Business Solutions (ABS), reflecting its role as a software provider in the agro sector. The acquired software solutions were also rebranded under the ABS name.

Today, Agro Business Solutions (ABS) operates alongside its subsidiary, Agro Business Services. The company offers three main solutions: ABS Breeding, ABS Seed, and ABS Fresh, which cover everything from developing new plant varieties to processing, sales, and global shipping. ABS is now a recognized name in the agro-business software market and is poised for further growth and innovation.

In the next phase from 2015 until today, ABS will focus on updating the technical foundations of its solutions.

ABS Breeding: Parent Tree Update

In late July, the Parent Tree feature received a revision to enhance existing functionality. This article highlights the key improvements.

One of the first changes you’ll notice when opening the Parent Tree is the colour coding: parents used as the mother in a cross are now highlighted in pink, while those used as the father are shown in blue. Additionally, when hovering over a plant, an eye icon now appears alongside the arrow to open the record.

Clicking the eye icon refocuses the Parent Tree to center on the selected record, instead of the one you originally opened. This feature is particularly useful when browsing through lineages that extend beyond a single screen, and it also ties into our next improvement.

Now, moving on to the next enhancement. In the settings menu at the top of the Parent Tree window, you’ll find a new option to display offspring. This feature allows you to see how frequently a plant was used in crosses, and when used together with the eye icon, it becomes easy to identify siblings that share genetic information with your plant of interest.

Lastly, we’ve added the ability to recognize selfings in the Parent Tree. By enabling a new checkmark in the “Crossing Creation” section of the admin menu, the system can now automatically collapse generations of inbreeding, displaying a counter instead of an extended tree of self-crosses. This compression allows for more non-selfing generations to be visible at once, providing a clearer and more detailed view of the Parent Tree.

ABS Service Desk – 2-Factor Authentication Update

As you know, the ABS Service Desk is designed to log and track all issues and calls related to your ABS software solution on a 24/7 basis. It enables ABS key users to formalize, document, and monitor the progress of support and maintenance, while allowing ABS to manage and measure the performance of these services.

Last year, ABS decided to transition the ABS Service Desk tool from an in-house solution to a cloud-based platform. Cloud-based solutions require enhanced security measures, and over the past several months, we’ve introduced these additional security features in the background while still hosting the solution on-premise. Although the look and feel of the system will remain largely unchanged in the near future, there is one important security update that requires your attention.

We are implementing a more advanced access procedure. While you can still log in via the existing method, we have already introduced 2-factor authentication (2FA). Moving forward, we will eventually require all customers to use this new, more secure access method.

If you wish to switch to the new 2FA process now, please contact your ABS account manager or submit a support request if you need assistance.

Track and Trace in Seed Production: Enhancing Transparency and Quality

ABS provides two software’s to manage your seed productions:

• ABS Seed, an ERP solution, which manages you seed all the way from basic seeds to sales of commercial seed and all the steps in between.
• To create an easier accessible software with shorter implementation time we have developed our web-based ABS Production software

The agricultural industry is fundamental to human survival, with seed production playing a critical role in ensuring food security. As the demand for high-quality seeds increases, so does the need for robust systems that can guarantee their authenticity, quality, and safety. Track and trace technology in seed production has emerged as a vital tool in achieving these goals, offering transparency and traceability throughout the seed supply chain. In ABS Production we have now improved the track and trace functionalities.

The Importance of Track and Trace in Seed Production

Track and trace systems are designed to monitor and document the journey of seeds from production to distribution. These systems provide several key benefits:

1. Quality Assurance: By tracking the entire lifecycle of seeds, from planting to harvesting and beyond, producers can ensure that seeds meet strict quality standards.
2. Fraud Prevention: Traceability helps in preventing the counterfeiting of seeds, which can lead to significant financial losses and compromised crop yields.
3. Regulatory Compliance: Governments and international bodies have stringent regulations regarding seed production. Track and trace systems help producers comply with these regulations by maintaining detailed records.
4. Consumer Confidence: Transparency in seed production processes enhances consumer trust, as buyers can verify the origin and quality of the seeds they purchase.

How the track and trace system in ABS Production works

In the below screen shot you can get an impression of the track and trace in ABS Production. If you would like to see more, you can request a demo

Challenges and Future Directions

While track and trace systems offer significant benefits, there are challenges to their implementation:

1. Cost: The initial investment in technology and infrastructure can be high, particularly for small-scale producers.
2. Data Security: Ensuring the security of sensitive data is crucial to prevent unauthorized access and tampering.
3. Interoperability: Different systems and standards across regions and organizations can hinder seamless data integration and sharing.

Looking forward, the future of track and trace in seed production lies in continued technological innovation and collaboration. Satellite information, machine learning, and sensor technology will also be reviewed and if desired integrated in ABS Seed and ABS Production in the future.

ABS Breeding App – Upcoming Release

As announced in our last newsletter, we are excited to launch the latest version of the ABS Breeding App. This new version has been built on the React Native platform, which offers several advantages, including improved offline functionality and better integration with native device features such as the camera, local database, and tools like barcode readers.

Previously, we faced significant challenges with iPhones and iPads, particularly with unexpected iOS version upgrades. However, with the transition to React Native, we now have much better control over these matters.

Additionally, screen-size compatibility—previously a challenge when loading the app on different devices—has been addressed with an automatic scaling tool. Users can now also toggle between day and night modes for enhanced usability in different lighting conditions.