Research and Development

GrowSafe Systems Ltd. (GrowSafe) develops automation solutions for the livestock research, feedlot and dairy industries that maximize profitability. GrowSafe patented technology offers a scientifically proven unprecedented ability in real-time to continuously and automatically identify sick, poor performing and market ready animals. GrowSafe is the world's leader in providing advanced data acquisitions systems to animal science research that enable unobstructed individual animal behavior measurement. GrowSafe research systems precisely measure feed and water intake, animal weight and feeding behavior of individual animals feeding in a typical production environment.

GrowSafe technology provides a research framework to integrate data including genomic, proteomic, physiologic, and environmental in the context of a disease, with a focus on understanding and determining clinical responses to potential treatment. The scientists using GrowSafe systems have found that differences may exist between efficient and inefficient animals in actual feed intake, rate of gain in backfat, backfat thickness and feeding duration independent of growth rate and body size.

There are now more than 8 GrowSafe patents, 40 GrowSafe software program copyrights and 200 scientific publications issued as a result of the use of our technology. More than 40 graduate students have given their dissertation using GrowSafe data.

Product Evolution

In the early 1990s GrowSafe Systems Ltd, developed a computerized data acquisition system that could electronically identify and monitor ostrich chicks. Chicks would visit the feeder about 500 times per day. When chicks became ill, feeding behavior visitation dropped rapidly, declining to about 50 visits per day. This visitation decline could be trended over a very short time interval, usually within 4 – 12 hours. In response to GrowSafe data triggers, avian specialists developed responsive treatment protocols. Survivability was improved from 8% to more than 90% using GrowSafe technology and responsive animal health treatment protocols.

Early findings in cattle using GrowSafe technology indicated similar early predictive abilities using animal behavior to early identify illness. From 1993 to 2000 a significant body of work was compiled by researchers using first generation GrowSafe behaviour research technology indicating that feeding behavior patterns of morbid and non-morbid calves differ and could be measured (Basarab, 1996); and that the technology had the potential to identify morbid animals, before overt disease symptoms could be detected. (Quimby 1999) Research determined that the economic value of morbid calves could be as much as US$0.19 to $0.35 less per kg than for healthy calves (Sowell 1999).

The technological transition from a GrowSafe system that could measure a small bird confined in a controlled environment to a large animal in the cattle environment was extremely complex and required the adaptation and invention of new electronics, wireless communication methods, and data acquisition and analysis techniques. Many of these methods have been protected under GrowSafe patents issued in 2002 and 2005 with additional patents pending. The first decade of GrowSafe development was focused on overcoming technological obstacles, and reducing technology cost to a point of economic viability.

In 2000 GrowSafe developed a fully automated feed intake and behavior monitoring system. These systems are primarily used to determine feed efficiency of animals. In 2003 GrowSafe built and expanded on this platform, and began the development of a commercial feedlot monitoring system. The primary outcome of this development was a highly automated, feedyard practical, system that monitors individual animal performance to the most optimal management, treatment and market end-point; an in pen data acquisition device now known as GrowSafe Beef™

From 2007—2010 GrowSafe invested significantly in field validation, product engineering, design and advanced software development. This included development of next generation microprocessor technology which greatly increased data throughput under increased data acquisition loads, improved bi-directional communication and reduced power consumption. Systems are now remotely hardware and software configurable.

To find out more about GrowSafe research and development contact als@growsafe.com

GrowSafe Beef Research

The beef industry is under significant pressure from issues such as rising costs, animal disease, antimicrobial resistance, consumer perception about the safety of beef products, trade barriers and traceability requirements, and animal welfare. Each of these issues has the potential to structurally change the industry.

The usual means of assessing the health of beef cattle are subjective, involving visual evaluation aided by minimal clinical measurements. (Galyean). Animals are judged ill when they appear depressed, listless, or off feed (Speirs and Wrigley). A dilemma facing modern feedlots is how to detect animals that are in need of medical intervention (Sowell). Research has demonstrated declining carcass value between animals not treated and those treated once, twice and three times respectively. (Schneider). The value of rapid diagnosis and treatment of disease increases when cattle are sold on carcass merit basis because of the negative effects of disease on carcass traits. (Larson). Several epidemiological studies have indicated that even with increased pharmaceutical use, the incidence of morbidity and mortality in feedyards has increased. The effectiveness of antimicrobials in the treatment of BRD depends primarily on early recognition and treatment (Apley, Cusack). BRD manifests its economic losses cumulatively, through the cost of treatment, the cost of lost production, and death loss, emphasizing the importance of prevention and treatment as early as possible.

What GrowSafe is Researching

In addition to the economic value of a greatly enhanced rapid diagnostic method for the commercial feedyard, the method proposed by GrowSafe will enables animal health research to objectively measure how an animal responds to disease in the production environment on a commercially relevant scale.

Previous data collected by GSB systems on individual animals indicate significant opportunity for new management strategies. In general we have found that:

• Sick animals are identified by GSB by behavioural changes preceding clinical signs of illness by up to 4 days, often up to 24 hours in advance of body temperature change.
• Up to 30% of animals in a pen are identified as poor performers.
• Up to 30% of animals 'are above' average and performance is penalized when fed beyond optimum market date.
• Certain implant, feeding and management pen strategies are having detrimental effects on individual performance
• Growth of some of the population could be enhanced by alternative implant and finishing strategies
• There is significant opportunity to improve management of individual animals fed in pen environments

GrowSafe is collaborating with animal health entities to answer the research questions posed by these and other findings. We believe there are better and perhaps new ways to target existing products and perhaps opportunities for new product development.

To find out more about GrowSafe research and development contact als@growsafe.com