A new company is hoping to get ahead in the pasture-to-table market by using Bluetooth tags that track health data and the lifespan of cattle.
HerdDogg is an ag-tech innovator located in Laramie. The company's traceability program offers Bluetooth animal tags that enable the producer to develop data sets that can be linked to a physical QR code. That code can be accessed on a smartphone much like a menu at a restaurant.
Founder Melissa Brandao said the company's mission is to increase the value of livestock so that producers can make more money from every animal they raise. That value is raised by the amount of data that is available.
"Whether that means that the animal is being managed through a welfare program, or a beef quality program, or just the fact that it's traceable, all of those elements of data, add to the value of the animal," she said.
Brandao said one reason why the company decided to move their headquarters to Wyoming is because of the Food Freedom Act that allows cow-calf operators to sell directly in the grocery store.
"We believe that Wyoming, combined with the HerdDogg platform can create a traceability model for the country where cow-calf operators gain value, as well as consumers, gain transparency through a model of traceability, that's done right," said Brandao
HerdDogg has already partnered with the Jackson-based Lockhart Cattle Company to work on the traceability program.