Stonehills Farm in East Yorkshire is paving the way for a new movement in farm retail. Across the UK, farms are quietly embracing digital transformation by adopting new tools to make their operations more efficient. Anna Riby, the owner of Stonehills, invested in RFID fridges and freezers, which allowed people to unlock units via touchscreen. Payments could then be processed instantly, with the current stock being monitored by the app. Frictionless retail like this is making waves in the UK’s agricultural sector as well.
The Rise of Smart Retail in Farming
Farm diversification once meant honesty boxes and wooden hatches to store food. Now, however, it means RFID vending machines, contactless payments, data-driven stock management, and the ability to manage your inventory remotely. Tools like this are giving farmers additional retail margins. In the case of Stonehills Farm, when they traded through Morrisons, data was lost along the way.
Uniform packaging replaced essential data, including the breed of animal and the farm it came from. Vending machines, however, ensure this information is intact, and they don’t require staffing, as automation is used to bridge the gap. Robertshaw’s in Skipton is also moving with the times. Even though it’s a traditional farm shop that sells freshly baked bread from local suppliers, they have invested in a state-of-the-art digital bread slicing machine. Not only does this allow people to slice their own bread, by choosing the thickness and orientation they want, but it also allows the shop to improve personalisation, something that gives the shop an edge over more commercial bakeries.
Entertainment Has Made Farming Visible Again
Public interest has had a big role to play here. People now want to go to farms to buy their produce, as the systems themselves are becoming more transparent. Shows like Clarkson’s Farm have changed the conversation, as it humanises the struggles with farming, while highlighting the thin profit margins farms often face.
Our Yorkshire Farm does the same, and also encourages people to seek out farm-direct produce. The renewed interest in farming isn’t limited to television either. Farm themes are everywhere right now, including in iGaming. When accessing a casino online UK slot catalogue, you’ll notice titles like Happy Money Hens. Even though titles like this have a stylised approach to farming, with bright graphics and quirky themes, they still reflect the cultural pull of farming. Even simulators are on the rise, which allow people to harvest crops while dealing with harsh weather conditions. As time goes on, farms are no longer hidden behind opaque supply chains or behind big supermarket giants. They are becoming more visible, and tech has a huge role.
Since adopting RFID vending machines to dispense frozen meat and fresh produce, Stonehills Farm has gone on to be profitable within the space of ten months, with a bank loan used to fund the initial purchase. With Robertshaw’s Farm Shop adopting bread slicing technology to provide customers with more options, it seems that farm shops are taking a step forward by adopting new retail methods, while actively preserving what makes them so special.
