For over 50 years, Fieldale Farms Corporation has built a reputation as one of the world’s largest independent poultry producers. Rooted in Northeast Georgia, this family-owned business remains committed to providing premium, healthy poultry products to customers in over 50 countries. With the ability to provide product packaging, fully cooked products, and other specialty items, Fieldale is a trusted one-stop source for quality poultry products.

Under the brand Springer Mountain Farms, Fieldale was the pioneer in raising poultry without the use of antibiotics as well as the first poultry producer to be American Humane Certified. With cutting-edge technology and a rigorous commitment to safety, Fieldale ensures every product meets the highest standards of quality for customers around the globe.

For years, the Fieldale Farms laboratory team depended on Microsoft Access databases and Excel spreadsheets to manage its laboratory data. While these tools served their purpose in the past, growing testing demands soon exposed their limitations.

One significant challenge was the lack of a comprehensive audit trail, which made it difficult to trace data changes and ensure accuracy. Also determining whether all samples were processed, testing was completed and protocols followed required extensive manual effort.

“We could not easily trace what method had been used and the technicians responsible without investing significant time and effort,” said Janet Smith, Manager of the Laboratory at Fieldale Farms.

The Fieldale lab required a modern software solution to simplify sample login, enhance tracking, ensure accurate result entry with a detailed audit trail, support strong QA/QC processes, and enable seamless electronic data transfer with laboratory instruments.

To tackle these challenges, Fieldale Farms’ ISO 17025 and USDA FSIS-accredited lab adopted a cloud-based LIMS. With this upgrade, the lab now enjoys full traceability. “Now, we can trace the sample all the way from the front door to final reporting knowing the technicians, methods, and equipment involved each step without a lot of paperwork review,” said Smith.

“With the LIMS, we achieve audit trail capabilities that were absent before,” said Smith. Any changes to validated and/or approved results will spawn an audit trail.  The LIMS audit trail stores the original result, the date and time stamp of the original result, the person that entered the original result and the new result, the date and time stamp of the new result, the user that made the change, and finally the new result. In addition, the LIMS will prompt the user to enter a reason for the change of the result.

Generating reports used to be a tedious time drain, diverting valuable time and resources from core laboratory functions. “Before, I often had to recreate reports for each “new/different” type of sample/customer when I didn’t have a template that was acceptable due to the reports being “static” – containing specific methods that often didn’t fit every scenario,” said Smith. The LIMS allows for dynamic reporting adaptable to different testing methods and client requirements. Reporting is now faster, more accurate, and far less frustrating.

Another key benefit for the lab is instrument integration. “Parsing files from the instrument directly into the LIMS database is also a favorite.  No more data transcription errors and it is quick,” said Smith. The LIMS integrates seamlessly with the lab’s Leco Protein Analyzer, PCR, and NIR Spectrometer.

By adopting a modern, cloud-based LIMS solution, the lab eliminated the need for expensive hardware investments and avoided the hassle of setup and maintenance. With no need for specialized IT staff, the system runs smoothly with automatic updates, reducing staff workload and minimizing downtime. The result: improved productivity, streamlined operations, and uninterrupted lab performance.