Investment analyst reveals 4 necessary traits of successful agtech startups
Walt Cooley
October 2, 2020
The biggest news this week was the first-ever Global Dairy Tech Start-up Spotlight. More than 700 people logged in from around the world to hear 10 start-ups give their elevator pitches for how their cow tech would address the needs of dairy farmers. All of the companies were asked to answer three questions in their 10-minute presentation and Q&A with a panel of experts.
Here were the questions they attempted to answer: What technology are you offering? What are the costs/benefits of the technology? Why is your technology needed now and in the future?
Here were my top headlines from each of the companies that presented at the conference:
PharmRobotics
• What? A robotic arm positioned at the exit alley leading away from parlor to administer vaccines and reproductive products
• Cost-benefit? On dairy farms using timed A.I., employees administer 15,000 to 18,0000 shots per 1,000 cows per year. The cost of labor to administer shots and the average inaccuracy of shot protocols can cost a farm up to $285 per cow per year. ROI of this tech is estimated at 1 to 3 years.
• Why needed in the future? Skilled labor shortages and increasing demands for traceability of pharmaceuticals used on farms
Cainthus
• What? Computer vision and artificial intelligence to monitor feed availability and cow comfort
• Cost-benefit? “Initial data is looking like a 3-to-1 return”
• Why needed in the future? To benchmark the effect of management practices on daily time budgets for cows. “The exciting part of computer vision technology is if you can see it, we can essentially train the system to see it too.”
Livestock Water Recycling
• What? A digitized, automated platform to manage manure nutrient monitoring, extraction and utilization
• Cost-benefit? 18 percent savings on manure polymer dosing costs
• Why needed in the future? The system can recycle up to 75 percent of clean water being lost to lagoons and may create the possibility of a lagoon-free waste stream
Labby
• What? In-line and portable optical sensors for raw milk used to detect mastitis. It tests for milk fat, protein and SCC in under 10 seconds.
• Cost-benefit? Pricing is 70 percent cheaper than other similar services. ROI possible in less than six months.
• Why needed in the future? Milk quality results can be provided in minutes instead of days. Gives better visibility to animal health, milk quality and feed efficiency
milc group
• What? Subscription, cloud-based software for feed management, pulsation monitoring and employee on-boarding / training
• Cost-benefit? N/A
• Why needed in the future? It’s a flexible, scalable management software solution. It’s simple to get started and to use. “With our software you can get up and running within a day. Get management reports from anywhere through a smartphone app without TeamViewer.”
Zisk
• What? A real-time margin and revenue projection app: “A crystal ball for farmers”
• Cost-benefit? Free. It’s a downloadable smartphone application.
• Why needed in the future? To proactively manage low milk prices and financial distress. “Dairymen use the milk price as a barometer for their emotions of the day. If milk prices are up, they’re having a good day. If milk prices are down, not such a great day.” With the app, dairy owners can start to visualize how risk management strategies could impact gross margins.
Advanced Animal Diagnostics
• What? An on-farm mini lab to detect subclinical mastitis using leukocyte counts
• Cost-benefit? At least $200 saved for every subclinical mastitis case detected
• Why needed in the future? To better detect mastitis cases and understand what’s going on with somatic cell counts and thus better manage mastitis treatment plans
EIO Diagnostics
• What? Computer vision and machine learning to detect and monitor for early indications of mastitis via udder inflammation and swelling
• Cost-benefit? Only $12 per cow per year
• Why needed in the future? Fast detection of mastitis is needed in rotary parlor applications. The system can also be used as an affordable alternative to RFID identification.
Fyto
• What? Push-button-grown, soy-like protein that feeds like a forage from on-farm cultivated aquatic plants
• Cost-benefit? Grow 10 to 20 times more protein per acre per year.
• Why needed in the future? Automated growth and feeding of protein to cows year-round that doesn’t require arable land. Uses processed dairy cow manure as one of the inputs to the system.
SomaDetect
• What? In-line optical sensor and artificial intelligence to improve reproduction and mastitis detection
• Cost-benefit? Reduce the number of cows requiring preg checks by ultrasound or palpation by up to 50 percent
• Why needed in the future? Decrease early embryonic loss and days open. “Identify if cows are pregnant by doing something that you're doing anyway – milking cows.”
The start up presentations were reviewed by a panel of three industry experts. The trio included Marcia Endres, PhD, professor and director of graduate studies, animal science, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; Joao H.C. Costa, PhD, professor, dairy science, University of Kentucky; and Jeffrey Bewley, PhD, analytics and innovation scientist at Holstein Association USA.
“Thank you for bringing these [technology] examples. Remember, these are startups and not 100% of them will become viable in the future, but we hope that a lot of these will make it,” Endres said at the conclusion of the event.
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