Blockchain to Play 'Essential Role' in Farming Supply Chains, Says US Government

The U.S. Department for Agriculture says it expects blockchain will become a key component in supply chain management and traceability.

• In the Federal Register last week, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the Dept. of Agriculture's standardization and testing authority, said distributed ledger technology (DLT), which includes blockchain, will likely play an "essential role" in complex supply chains.
• Businesses can use DLT to track a single item in real time in a secure, verifiable and transparent way, AMS said.
• The agency added many modern DLT solutions are permissioned; confidential and business-sensitive information is only disclosed to authorized entities.
• Supply chain management is already an established use case for blockchain – the likes of Daimler, Tesla and Amazon have all explored using DLT in theirs.
• GrainChain, a blockchain platform tracing agricultural products, raised $5 million in a funding round earlier this year.
• The U.S. Air Force renewed a tech contractor's mandate in June to assess the value of using blockchain for its own military supply chain.

See also: World Economic Forum Looks to Blockchain for Supply Chain Woes