Kiwi innovator taking on the world
‘‘Lifting heat detection rates by even a small margin can have a massive impact on the economy.’’
A low-cost device designed to detect when cows are ovulating and ready to be inseminated has earned two Kiwi entrepreneurs a spot among the finalists in the 2018 New Zealander of the Year Awards.
Fraser Smith and Matt Yallop of Farmshed Labs are finalists in the New Zealand Innovator of the Year category for their product FlashMate.
FlashMate is a small plastic dome, housing touch screen electronics that accurately detects the activity associated in cows that are in heat and ready for insemination. A flashing red light signals to the farmer it’s ready for insemination.
Smith said this technology helps address a huge challenge faced by dairy farmers - knowing exactly when a cow is in heat. He says there are significant economic factors at stake when it comes to heat detection because it’s the single controllable factor that makes the biggest impact on farm profitability.
‘‘Lifting heat detection rates by even a small margin can have a massive impact on the economy,’’ he said.
‘‘DairyNZ have said a lift in detection rates by 15 per cent would add an extra $300 million to New Zealand’s GDP, so there are huge gains to be made from this.’’
Smith said he and Yallop are proud that such an important innovation for the national dairy industry is being recognised as a finalist for a New Zealander of the Year Award.
The New Zealand Innovator of the Year Award recognises discoveries, research or innovations that are driving society forward.
‘‘It’s great to be recognised for what is a very simple tool, but one that will have a really big impact.’’
Smith said every year New Zealand farmers are trying to spot more than 10 million heats during a six-week period.
‘‘They’re looking for behavioural cures and rubbing marks on tail paint that indicate the cow is ready for insemination. This requires a judgement call, which is stressful.
FlashMate takes the guess work out of it - if it’s flashing then the cow is almost certainly in heat because a clear pattern of heat activity has been established.
‘‘Having your best heatdetecting farmer available for six weeks straight during breeding comes at a real cost on an individual level. We have essentially baked that skill and experience into FlashMate.’’
Smith said technology should provide valuable solutions to relevant industry problems.
‘‘Mucking in with farmers gave us a full understanding of the challenges they face. We quickly realised that heat detection was their biggest pain point, so developing an accurate heat detector that could retail for under $10 quickly became our target – and now we have a scientifically proven product.’’
Now, FlashMate is distributed nationally through Gallagher, and Smith and Yallop are meeting with dairy and beef researchers around the world who are interested.
The New Zealander of the Year Awards will be announced at an event in Auckland on Thursday 22 February.