RDAR investment in digital technology to impact the cow/calf sector

Sep 9, 2021 | 3:52 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. — For decades, farming and ranching has moved with the times and embraced technology for production practices. However, one area of technology has been lagging.

Right now, seventy five percent of cow/calf operations still use pen and paper for record keeping and management.

Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) is working to change that, by providing financial support to Flokk Systems, which is developing a digital production herd management tool, designed to improve decisions from complete and current herd data to enhance and automate anti-microbial resistance management protocols, while eliminating manual identification of animals and hand written records.

At the AgSmart technology demonstration and education exposition at Olds College on August 10, RDAR Director of Research, Dr. Clinton Dobson and Flokk Systems Inc. President, Dr. Mark Olson, explained that they would continue their work on identifying factors that limit the digitization of Alberta cow/calf production and evaluate practical solutions to those limitations.

Olson noted that RDAR’s involvement is vital to early stage Ag Tech companies like Flokk.

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“The outstanding support we have received from leaders in Alberta’s Ag Innovation space such as Olds College, Alberta Innovates, NRC and RDAR demonstrates the broad commitment to, and opportunities available to, Alberta’s SmartAg entrepreneurs.”

The project began immediately, using industry surveys, producer interviews, and on-farm evaluations of prototype hardware and software to deliver solutions that support Alberta’s livestock producers retaining, and strengthening, their leadership in traceability and sustainability.

The new system is also expected to offer access to export markets that demand detailed traceability practices, with the digital tool

The current project will complete field evaluation of a prototype hand-held device that focuses on the practical realities of Alberta cow/calf producers, and then accelerate the adoption of digital tools for herd management and traceability reporting.

Concept development has been carried out on a ranch in Dogpound (north-west of Airdrie), Alberta. Hardware and software was designed in Mountain View County, and prototypes built by Solarbotics in Calgary. Flokk is committed to engaging Alberta’s Agriculture community to build and validate digitization solutions that are competitive globally. More information on the project can be found on the RDAR website.

by Dori Modney