Farm Health Guardian’s on-farm biosecurity technology goes global
Innovative digital disease control and management tools developed by an Ontario company are helping farmers and food companies prevent animal disease and respond quickly when their livestock and poultry do become sick.
Livestock diseases like African Swine Fever or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza are not only global threats to food and economic security, farmer mental health and international trade, they’re also an animal welfare and farm profitability risk. Farm Health Guardian’s smart biosecurity management software can help the industry improve biosecurity and keep animals healthy, saving time and reducing costs.
The Farm Health Guardian system confidentially records the movement of trucks and people on and off farm properties for rapid contact tracing in the event of a disease outbreak. The software also lets users easily compare actual versus planned truck routes, check compliance with downtime requirements and receive breach alerts if a feed or livestock trailer does not stay within its assigned area or group of farms.
After some successes in Canada and with livestock and poultry disease threats strengthening around the world, the Guelph, Ontario-based company wanted to explore international opportunities in the swine and poultry markets for its system.
A non-repayable funding contribution from Bioenterprise Canada’s SmartGrowth program helped Farm Health Guardian pursue expansion opportunities in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States. SmartGrowth is supported by a Government of Canada investment of over $6 million through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
“The SmartGrowth funding helped us leverage Canadian technology and showcase it to the world – and do it much faster than otherwise possible,” says Farm Health Guardian Chief Innovation Officer Tim Nelson. “We were able to attend stakeholder meetings, like with one of the largest grocery retailers in the UK and participate in several different international investor pitch presentations. Those are things that are hard for a Canadian start-up to do, and this funding helped us do that.”
And the results have been impressive. One identified partner in the UK is now a commercial distributor in the poultry sector for the company, and Nelson says they’re in development discussions with potential partners in both France and Italy. They’ve also expanded their team by adding three full-time equivalent positions.
It’s in the United States, though, that Farm Health Guardian was able to record its greatest success. Not only did the company secure its first customer in the swine industry south of the border, but its market development work ultimately resulted in a merger with Novetechnologies LLC.
The Nebraska start-up is the developer of Protocol, a facial recognition barn entry system that controls access points to ensure the highest security and disease prevention protocols for farms – an ideal complement to Farm Health Guardian’s existing technology.
“We identified Novetech as part of our activities in the U.S., and we quickly learned that we were stronger at working together instead of as competitors, so we had discussions about amalgamating,” says Farm Health Guardian CEO Rob Hannam.
The two companies formally merged in June 2023 and now operate as a combined entity under the Farm Health Guardian brand with offices in Guelph, Ontario and Omaha, Nebraska. Novetech founders and investors became part owners of Farm Health Guardian as part of the deal.
“We now have an expanded product line with stronger patents and trademarks, a stronger team with broader expertise, and greater market access, which the SmartGrowth funding helped make possible,” Hannam adds. “We’re now a company with a footprint in Canada and the United States and sales in North America and the UK. We’re not just a small Canada-only start-up anymore, and the potential of where that could lead is significant.”
Learn more about Farm Health Guardian
Learn more about Bioenterprise’s SmartGrowth Program
Learn more about FedDev Ontario