August 26, 2024 – Guelph, Ontario, Canada: Farm Health Guardian is looking to test its digital biosecurity technology with farms and food companies across Canada. The ideal project participants are farms or food companies with multiple connected sites, such as pig production systems; transport or feed companies looking to verify vehicle biosecurity; and veterinarians who oversee a group of farms with shared biosecurity protocols.
To support this testing, the company is receiving Government of Canada funding, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
“Technological innovations are boosting agriculture by providing more tools to ensure Canadians have access to safe, quality foods,” said the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario. “With support from the Government of Canada, Farm Health Guardian will be able to bring its technology to market faster, resulting in better outcomes for Canadian agri-food producers and businesses.”
Animal disease is a major issue for the livestock and poultry sector in Canada and globally. In swine, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) costs $200 million per year in Canada. In poultry, commercial farms in Canada lost nearly seven million birds in 2022 due to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
“Strong biosecurity practices within a food system are one of the best ways to reduce animal disease, which is a costly problem for farmers and food companies,” says Rob Hannam, CEO of Farm Health Guardian. “Every farm business is a little bit different, so it’s important to demonstrate how the technology works in that situation.”
There are big gains to be made from using modern digital technologies as opposed to the current practices that tend to be more manual and time consuming, especially when it comes to biosecurity.
“This investment means we can help more farms and food companies reduce the risk of disease spread, improve animal health and reduce losses,” says Hannam. “Our focus will be to demonstrate the value of adopting digital biosecurity technology to farmers and food companies across Canada and in the Midwest US.”
Farm Health Guardian automates biosecurity to send biosecurity breach alerts, stop unauthorized entry, and verify requirements to protect against disease transmission.
To learn more about the project, contact: info@farmhealthguardian.com.
To learn more about Farm Health Guardian, visit farmhealthguardian.com.
About Farm Health Guardian
Farm Health Guardian is a biosecurity management technology to help farms and food companies improve animal health and protect against the devastating impact of animal disease.
The patented system controls barn entry using facial recognition technology and provides real-time alerts when people or trucks breach biosecurity protocols.
Launched in 2020 for the swine and poultry sectors, Farm Health Guardian technology is reducing the risk of disease spread and improving biosecurity compliance which saves time, reduces the cost of production and improves farm sustainability. Farm Health Guardian operates out of Guelph, Ontario and Omaha, Nebraska.
About FedDev Ontario
For 15 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our investment profiles, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
For more information:
Rob Hannam CEO,
Farm Health Guardian
rhannam@farmhealthguardian.com
Edward Hutchinson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
edward.hutchinson@feddevontario.gc.ca
