World Ag Expo features two cow tech companies
A teat dipping robot for parallel parlors and a new software platform for tracking hoof care were two of the new products named Top 10 innovations for this year’s upcoming World Ag Expo show Feb. 8-10.
Read more about these products here.
Gene-edited calf may be able to sire ‘sexed-semen’ offspring
I’ve written before about Alison Van Eenennaam and her lab’s work with CRISPR technology.
Another use for the technology is underway – ‘sexed semen’ bulls. A male bull calf has been born with gene-edited characteristics that would allow him to pass his ‘edited’ genetics to off-spring so that they would only sire all-males or all-females. Van Eenennaam’s lab is now waiting for the calf to mature to reproductive age to see if their gene-editing will survive and perpetuate in naturally sired offspring.
Read more here.
Note: Even if proven successful, and as with other CRISPR technologies, bringing this functionality to market faces many regulatory hurdles in the U.S. at this point – many which seem impossible to overcome.
Prominent ag tech advisor changes roles
Aidan Connolly has stepped down as CEO of start up Cainthus and will work full-time in the ag tech investment and consulting firm he founded – AgriTech Capital.
“The need for agritech solutions has never been greater, and it is clear that they will play a significant role as we transform the ways in which we produce food,” he wrote in a post announcing the change on LinkedIn.
Connolly has served as Cainthus’ CEO for three years. Read more here.
LorRaWan-based cattle monitoring ecosystem wins People’s Choice award
The cow tech start-up Caravan Tech was recently named the People’s Choice award winner in the American Farm Bureau’s Innovation Challenge. Two cow tech companies competed as Top 10 finalists, including Caravan Tech and ExciPlex. The award comes with a $5,000 bonus in addition to the $10,000 awarded for being a Top 10 finalist.
Read more about the Top 10 finalists here.
Animal AgTech Summit fast approaching
Join me at the Animal AgTech Innovation Summit in San Francisco (March 21) alongside the world’s leading animal health and nutrition providers, producers, tech pioneers, entrepreneurs, and investors. The super early bird rate expires Thursday, Jan. 27 – PLUS save a further 10% with this discount code PD10.
Book your seat now: http://bit.ly/3aqX9tt
Profit projections from ZISK
2022’s projected profitability for two dairy herd sizes INCREASED
since the beginning of the year in profit projections from ZISK.
ZISK is a profit-projection smartphone app that tracks individual dairy farm profitability based on current CME board prices. Projections for a 1,000-cow dairy producing an average of 80 pounds of milk per cow and a 2,500-cow dairy producing an average of 85 pounds of milk per cow are provided.
12-month dairy farm profit projections (as of Jan. 20, 2022):
1,000-cow dairy = $566,515 (UP
about $289,000 since the first of the year)
2,500-cow dairy = $2.963 million (UP
about $765,000 since the first of the year)