5 minute read
Technology
from Dairy Farmer February 2021
by AgriHQ
cows’ has moved one step further with the formation of a distribution partnership between herd improvement and agritech cooperative LIC and Israeli-based Afimilk.
The companies have joined forces to market the AfiCollar – a cow neck collar that monitors cow rumination, eating and motion – in New Zealand.
Afimilk is a global producer of cow behaviour sensors, farm management software and milk meters, supplying collars internationally to help farmers enhance and improve the health, fertility and nutrition of their animals.
Although a potential investment in Afimilk by LIC failed to proceed earlier last year, the parties recently reached a new agreement regarding Afimilk’s cow collar technology.
LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says its working to build an integrated, collaborative technology ecosystem that makes it as easy as possible for farmers to adopt new technologies.
“Farmers need to be able to choose LIC and Israelibased Afimilk have formed a partnership to market the AfiCollar in New
Connected cows loading
By Anne Boswell
The global trend of ‘connected
Zealand. the technology and products that are best suited to them, and our role is to ensure that proven technology can integrate with LIC’s existing systems and herd management software into the future,” he says.
“AfiCollars will integrate with Protrack, LIC’s farm automation technology, which will allow for increased efficiency and faster, more informed decision-making on-farm. There is already strong demand for cow wearable technology by our farmers and for it to integrate with LIC’s farm automation systems.” McNee says cow behavioural monitoring devices like the AfiCollar will deliver on-farm benefits such as more accurate heat detection and animal health and welfare monitoring. “The AfiCollars are among the best in the world and, we believe, well suited to meet the unique challenges of NZ’s pastoral dairy environment,” he says. Afimilk chief executive Yuval
Rachmilevitz says he is excited to be cementing a new agreement with LIC for the distribution of AfiCollars.
“We share a combined commitment to enabling farmers to continually improve on-farm productivity through new technology, and it is exciting to be further enabling this in NZ,” he says.
McNee says LIC is looking to work with other leading NZ and international technology providers to continue to offer the very best options for farmers wanting to utilise new technologies coming to market.
“The ‘connected cow’ wearing this technology will shape the future of the dairy industry and help NZ maintain its world-leading edge in precision farming,” he says. n
The AfiCollar is a cow neck collar that monitors cow rumination, eating, and motion which will integrate with LIC’s Protrack system.
Put your thinking caps on
By Gerard Hutching
The Food, Fibre & Agritech Supernode Challenge is about finding new ideas that will benefit and change the sector.
Organisers of an agri-sector innovation challenge directed at Cantabrians are hoping to flush out latent talent who may have a big idea that will transform the sector.
The Food, Fibre & Agritech (FFA) Supernode Challenge is open for entries until February 14, with the winners announced at a May 11 event. At stake is a $130,000 prize pool.
There are two streams for the FFA Challenge: the Enterprise Stream for individuals, startups, students and businesses, and the Research Stream for staff and students who work at a Canterbury tertiary institution or a Crown Research Institute with a substantial base in Canterbury.
Organised by ChristchurchNZ, KiwiNet, AgResearch and the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, the challenge is looking for disruptive solutions by either generating value-added, high-impact food, fibre and agriculture products; or assisting onfarm automation and decision-making that mitigates environmental impacts; or reduces the cost of production; or captures value-added provenance and credence stories of products.
Solutions could include generating value-added, high-impact food, fibre and agriculture products. The Food, Fibre & Agritech Supernode Challenge is looking for bright ideas from students, researchers, startups or businesses to find innovative solutions for the sector.
Examples of some of these solutions are by combining different technologies such as AI, machine learning, future foods, big data, or biotechnology.
ChristchurchNZ Food Fibre & Agritech specialist Robyn Cox described her role in organising the Challenge as a “super connector” during an appearance on Sarah’s Country.
“We’ve realised in Canterbury the depth of talent and it’s about capturing it. We want to flush the talent out and take it to the surface, develop it and use it to transform the sector,” Cox says.
She says New Zealanders were often reluctant to go to market until they were really sure of themselves, unlike people in other countries.
The challenge was a way for innovators to be mentored by agencies, such as AgResearch, with ideas they may have struggled with.
One of the aims of the challenge was to guide all participants.
“We’ve had challenges in the past but with this one we’re going to capture all our entrants because though they might not make it through the first cut, anyone who’s brave enough to enter is worth capturing. We can work out where they fit – early stage, pre-commercial or at the point where the idea is very
advanced and they need to hook up with a specialist like AgResearch,” she says.
The challenge has a total cash prize pool of over $130,000, plus a range of in-kind support, including access to specialist labs and expert support. The overall winning team could be awarded up to $44,000 in cash prizes, plus in-kind support from organisations such as AgResearch and FoodSouth. High-performing teams may also have access to focused business support via Incubators such as ThincLab and Sprout.
The 25 teams selected for the Accelerator Programme will receive an in-kind prize package valued in excess of $20,000. n
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Innovators should apply through https:// kiwinet.brightidea.com/FFA
