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New Pilot Project Launches Using Blockchain Technology to Enhance Traceability and Validate Sustainability Claims on Dairy Products

Jan 17, 2023 | Articles, In the News

We’re excited to announce the launch of a new multi-year research project aimed at capturing production data on a dairy farm that’s using HydroGreen sprouted grain feed production systems.

Thanks to $1.2M in funding through the Canadian Food Innovation Network’s Food Innovation Challenge, TheoryMesh, HydroGreen, and EcoDairy have partnered on a pilot project to capture production data at EcoDairy, including the relationship between HydroGreen feed and methane reduction, using blockchain technology. TheoryMesh will develop an app to package data into a shopper-friendly format, serving as a case study for product traceability and transparency in communicating Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) claims with consumers.

Research will be conducted at HydroGreen’s Innovation Center and at the EcoDairy in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Bill Vanderkooi at EcoDairy in Abbotsford, BC with dairy cows eating HydroGreen sprouted grains

Bill Vanderkooi at EcoDairy in Abbotsford, BC with dairy cows eating HydroGreen sprouted grains


Understanding the Impact of HydroGreen’s Sprouted Grains on Livestock and the Environment

HydroGreen’s Automated Vertical Pastures™ produce fresh forage that’s estimated to reduce methane emissions in dairy cows by approximately 24%, preliminary findings show similar or greater reductions in beef cattle on a per kilogram weight gain basis. In 2021 researchers conducted a trial to determine if adding hydroponically sprouted grains grown in HydroGreen’s Automated Vertical Pastures™ can reduce methane in cows and improve feed efficiency, cow health, nutrition, and performance outcomes.

With the tracking of improved health and performance outcomes as well as lower carbon livestock feed and improved methane emissions profiles due to feed and forage mix, this project will help quantify the benefits of feeding livestock fresh, sprouted grains.

Sprouted grain growing at the HydroGreen Innovation Center in Sioux Falls, SD.

Sprouted grain growing in an Automated Vertical Pasture at the HydroGreen Innovation Center in Sioux Falls, SD.


Key Project Goals

This project has been designed with three major goals:

  1. Pilot a traceable processing supply chain which connects farm activity for beef and dairy to processing and ultimately consumer packaged goods.
  2. Integrate sustainable methods through the supply chain with traceable data which allows for the creation of verifiable claims which can be accessed by food companies and consumers. The data captured will track greenhouse gas (GHG), methane emissions, and other farm data along with the transport, energy consumption and food waste at the processing stage to provide a fully transparent view of ESG for the whole supply chain.
  3. Apply machine learning throughout the supply chain to ensure high-quality products and optimize sustainability.
Cows at the Bakerview EcoDairy with HydroGreen’s high energy sprouted grain mixed with their forage.

Dairy cows at the Bakerview EcoDairy with HydroGreen’s high-energy sprouted grain mixed with their forage.

 

Our Project PartnersTheoryMesh LOGO Copy

Leading the development of the software platform across the dairy and beef supply chain is TheoryMesh, a software as a service platform that captures data from across food supply chains to deliver traceability and transparency. With the use of blockchain and machine learning, the TheoryMesh platform tracks information in the supply chain to allow for optimizing sustainability and quality output. The result will be a QR code consumers can use to learn more about where their food comes from.

 

EcoDairy Logo

EcoDairy is a key partner in this project, known for showcasing industry-leading technologies contributing toward a net-zero emissions future for farms. EcoDairy is a working dairy farm featuring automated robot milking devices, a green energy solution digester, and the HydroGreen indoor fresh livestock feed growing solution. Ongoing research trials are underway on the nutrition, health, and well-being of grass-fed beef and dairy cows. EcoDairy produces their own branded products including milk, ice cream, and yogurt along with supply of beef through both the Hank’s Grass Fed Beef and HIRO Wagyu Beef brands.

We’re excited to dig into this project with our partners and share our learnings with our customers and community.


Project funding support provided by:

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Further Reading

 

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