A dynamic product flow model for a mixed ecological farm - an ICT application for ecological agriculture

Specialised farming systems, which focus on producing one or few products, are characterised by high productivity but also by high amounts of detrimental emissions and low quality residual products that makes them unsustainable. Mixed ecological farming systems, which focus on several products, are characterised by processes with cyclic product flows and low levels of detrimental emissions that makes them more sustainable. In this article, a model is introduced that provides a tool for developing and managing sustainability at mixed ecological farms. This will be done from a quality assurance perspective. The core of the model is the process informatics layer that connects business control and process control. This approach structures and generates data from business processes and physical processes and in this way acts as a decision-making platform or learning environment. The model can form a basis for an operational or tactical decision-support system