Dairy start-ups target individual producer problems

Introducing new ideas and innovations to the global dairy industry has long been a feature at the World Dairy Expo (WDE). 

Due to the pandemic, last year the expo offered the opportunity for dairy technology start-ups to present their ideas to dairy producers via a virtual format, the Global Dairy Tech Start-up Spotlight.

Although in-person events were held at the WDE this year, those not physically attending the show were still offered the chance to hear from startups in a virtual start-up spotlight event, held Sept. 16. 

Hosted by AgriTech Capital, the Global Dairy Tech Start-up Spotlight showcased 11 dairy start-ups. Both the in-person and virtual formats were divided into two parts – presentations by each company, followed by a panel discussion with industry experts Marcia Endres, professor and director of graduate studies, department of animal science, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Trevor DeVries, professor and Canada Research Chair, department of animal biosciences, University of Guelph and Jeffrey Bewley, analytics and innovation scientist with the U.S. Holstein Association. 

The featured companies were: Advanced Animal Diagnostics, Cainthus, HerdDogg, Labby, Livestock Water Recycling, Madcap Dairy Software, Milc group, PharmRobotics, Piper Systems, Smaxtec and Zisk. 

According to Aidan Connolly, president of AgriTech Capital and host of the virtual event, all of the selected start-ups propose solutions “that solve a critical problem for dairy producers, and as a result help them maximize efficiencies, profitability and production.”

Tracking data digitally

Each featured start-up offers digital technology that includes tools such as robots, cameras, and sensors that address a specific need identified by producers, like feed bunk management, monitoring cow behaviour and health, milk quality, manure treatment or labour. 

With all of the data-gathering technology options becoming available to producers, panelist Endres said producers need to think about what is most appropriate for their operations when choosing a data management solution. 

She said needs will vary from farm to farm, so it’s important to consider which option or options will help the business be more profitable and sustainable. 

Integration of data will also be important in the future. With various options available, she said producers need to think about how to put it all together. 

“Think through all of them, look at your operation, and discuss with your advisors – what would fit my operation?”

Technologies becoming more farm-focused

Bewley said he has noticed in recent years a shift in how new technologies presented at the WDE are being designed to specifically address an issue on the farm. 

“I see more now that the technologies are based on trying to solve a problem on a dairy farm,” he said. “This works a lot better if we start with an issue or an opportunity on the farm and develop a technology to meet that rather than just here’s the technology, how can I make it work on a farm?”

From an adoption standpoint, Devries said that while technology may play a role in terms of addressing some challenges on the farm, producers need to realize that not every technology will offer success. “There are going to be failures. Not every technology works in every situation, and there will be some trial and error,” he said. 

Devries said he favours technologies that offer labour saving and those that take as much human error and variation out of the equation and put it into the hands of the technology, “where presumably, we can promote more consistency in terms of measurements.” 

Consistency in measuring data is not the only benefit of some of the new technologies offered, it is the data itself. 

“We want new sources of data. Data tells us stories that we hadn’t heard before,” said Bewley. “And I think that’s one of the neat things that come out of the technologies, that can we learn things that question our conventional wisdom, either about what we know about the dairy cow or the dairy farm in general.”

Having new knowledge about the farm operation can provide economic opportunity, he said, because it offers the chance to change or make tweaks to management practices. It also allows producers to be more proactive about things such as feed management or animal health issues, because it is monitored across time and a producer can identify problems before they get out of control. 

Useful apps

New to the WDE tech spotlight this year is HerdDogg, an animal traceability platform available as a mobile phone app. The app requires the use of ear tags developed by the company that connect via Bluetooth to provide producers with information on individual cows, whether they are in the barn or out on pasture. The reach is 100 yards, and is dependent upon a wifi or cellular connection. The app measures movement, animal wellness and can be useful for early heat detection. 

Zisk is a financial app developed by veterinarian and dairy advisor Kevin Hoogendorn. The app aggregates production information (from research papers and trade magazines) and feed price information (from Chicago Mercantile Exchange) with milk market futures to help farmers make better financial decisions on-farm, with the goal of improved profitability. 

Managing production and milk data

Milc Group is a dairy information company that offers cloud-based solutions for dairy farm management. The company offers products like OneFeed that manages feed on the farm by seamlessly connecting the farmer with feed supplier, nutritionist and workers making feed on farms. Milc Pulse monitors milking equipment with sensors so farmers know how well the equipment is working, and an employee monitoring and training program called Train Trac. 

Its newest offering is Watchdog, which offers 24/7 barn monitoring. 

Piper measures information on what the company calls “milk assembly” – the journey from loading the milk from the farm onto a tanker, all the way to the processing plant. It’s an area company CEO Lee Hamilton said has remained unchanged for 75 years. The company offers accurate metering and information on the milk through sensors and milk testing software on-farm as well as on the tankers, eliminating the need for manual processes. 

Labby uses optical sensors to provide lab-grade testing on farm and real-time analysis for milk fat, protein and somatic cell count. Having live individual cow data during milking means instant actions can be taken.

The company has two products – a portable analyzer and an inline sensor that automates the process.