Turning Machine Telemetry into Actionable Insights for Farmers
Client: JFC Agri
Industry: AgriTech, Dairy & Beef Farming
Services: Product Consulting, UX/UI Design, Web Portal Development, iOS & Android App Development, API Integration, Reporting & Analytics, Deployment & Ongoing Support
Overview
JFC manufactures automatic calf feeders used on farms to prepare and dispense milk feed to calves, with all feeding logic and operational control running directly on the machine. These machines record detailed behavioural and operational data, including feed intake, feeding frequency, drinking speed, missed feeds and machine status metrics. To complement the physical hardware, JFC had already invested in a cloud-based portal and mobile application that allowed customers to view this data remotely.
As the platform matured and the number of deployed machines increased, JFC made the strategic decision to engage ERS as an external technology partner to take ownership of the existing portal and mobile applications. The objective was not to replace the system, but to ensure it could be supported, enhanced and evolved in line with customer expectations and JFC’s long-term product roadmap.
The Challenge
While JFC already had a functioning portal and mobile app in place, the platform had been developed externally and required a new level of technical stewardship as it moved into long-term production use. The primary challenge was to transition responsibility for a live, business-critical system without disrupting existing customers or compromising data integrity. This required a deep understanding of the existing architecture, data flows, API integrations and reporting logic, much of which had evolved over time.
The platform itself sits at the intersection of hardware telemetry, cloud infrastructure and end-user reporting. Any weaknesses in data synchronisation, error handling or presentation could directly impact farmer confidence in the system. JFC needed a partner capable of quickly becoming fluent in both the technical implementation and the real-world operational context of calf feeding on farms, while also addressing technical debt and improving maintainability behind the scenes.
At the same time, customer expectations were increasing. Farmers were relying on the portal and app not just as a passive reporting tool, but as a daily operational aid to identify feeding issues, monitor calf health indicators and respond to machine alerts. This placed pressure on the platform to be reliable, intuitive and performant across multiple devices and farm configurations. JFC required external expertise to stabilise the existing solution, introduce a structured development and support model, and create a clear path for ongoing enhancements without undertaking a full system rebuild.
Our Solution
ERS was engaged by JFC to take ownership of an existing portal and mobile application that had been developed by a previous vendor and bring it forward as a stable, supported and extensible digital platform. The initial phase of the engagement focused on a comprehensive technical and functional review of the legacy system, including its data models, API integrations, reporting logic, mobile architecture and deployment processes. This discovery phase allowed ERS to fully understand how the platform interacted with JFC’s automatic calf feeders and to identify areas of risk, technical debt and opportunity for improvement.
Once the platform was successfully transitioned, ERS assumed responsibility for ongoing development, enhancement and support across both the web portal and the iOS and Android mobile applications. Particular attention was given to strengthening the reliability of the data ingestion pipeline from the machines, ensuring that feeding data, machine telemetry and error information were consistently synchronised and accurately represented across all user interfaces. ERS also reviewed and refined reporting logic to ensure that calf-level and machine-level insights were clear, actionable and aligned with how farmers interpret feeding performance in real-world settings.
The Result
The transition of the JFC portal and mobile app to ERS has delivered a stable, supported and future-ready digital platform that extends the value of JFC’s automatic calf feeders. Customers benefit from a more reliable experience, with improved confidence that machine data is being captured, synchronised and presented accurately across web and mobile. The platform continues to provide clear visibility into calf feeding behaviour and machine performance, enabling farmers to monitor intake, identify missed or irregular feeds and respond quickly to potential issues.
For JFC, the engagement has removed the risks associated with an unsupported legacy system and replaced them with a sustainable development and support model. ERS’s stewardship of the platform ensures that enhancements can be delivered in a controlled manner, issues can be addressed efficiently, and the solution can evolve in line with customer needs and product strategy. The result is a strengthened digital ecosystem that complements JFC’s hardware offering, reinforces customer trust and positions the platform for long-term growth and innovation.