DairyReporter.com reports that Emergence client, Fredericton, NB and Buffalo, New York-based automated in-line milk monitoring system company, SomaDetect, has formed a partnership with Cornell University to conduct a series of research studies to further develop and validate their product.
The SomaDetect technology enables dairy farmers to know the health, reproductive status and quality of milk produced from each cow.
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The Cornell University Ruminant Center in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences will conduct a series of studies to evaluate this new technology for its potential to improve the nutritional, health, and reproductive management of lactating dairy cattle.
These new studies will supplement an on-farm pilot program SomaDetect began in June 2017 in association with Milk2020 and the New Brunswick Crop and Livestock Health and Quality Program. The system showed promising results detecting progesterone levels, trace antibiotics residues, protein, fat, and other milk quality and cow health indicators in real time on working dairy farms.
“We are incredibly excited to begin a research partnership with the University of Cornell to validate and further develop our automated in-line milk monitoring sensor. The University of Cornell and their Dairy research team are highly regarding in the industry and we couldn’t be more pleased to add their expertise on this project” says Bethany Deshpande, CEO of SomaDetect.
The research study with Cornell, led by Drs. Julio Giordano, Thomas Overton, and Daryl Nydam and funded with a grant from the New York Farm Viability Institute, will give SomaDetect the additional data necessary to further develop and refine the models used to assess these dairy quality indicators.
“Our team at Cornell University is excited to work on this research collaboration with SomaDetect,’’ Giordano said. “Unlocking the biological information present in cow milk through a non-invasive, fully automated technology will help us develop novel management strategies to improve the health and performance of lactating dairy cows.”
The technology will enable dairy farmers to know the health, reproductive status and quality of milk produced from each cow, resulting in better data for farmers, better milk for consumers and better lives for cows.
“The New York Farm Viability Institute has a long history of identifying and funding work that advances the use of data analytics to improve the profitability of New York’s farms,” said NYFVI’s Executive Director David Grusenmeyer. “As farmers, Farm Viability’s Board of Directors understands the potential of this work and the importance of this partnership,” added Grusenmeyer.
See: Somadetect installs at Cornell