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Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative’s (SDBII) ‘Precision Technology & Management Grant’

2024 Grants

Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative’s (SDBII) ‘Precision Technology & Management Grant’

Support available to farm owners looking to modernise with new farm equipment and technology. 

SDBII is a new initiative to help farmers cover some of the cost of upgrading and modernising their farm equipment. Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative’s (SDBII) ‘Precision Technology & Management Grant’

The grant aims to enhance farm efficiency by supporting the utilization of new and existing technologies. These technologies assist in managing key farm metrics effectively, ensuring optimal use of resources like labor, feed, and fertilizer. What’s great is that this grant isn’t just about innovation; it’s about practical, measurable improvements in your day-to-day operations.

Here’s what you need to know:

The Precision Technology Investment Grant, part of the SDBII, offers substantial funding – up to $150,000.00 per applicant. There’s a total of $1.5 million available in this category, with a minimum of 10 grants to be awarded. However, it’s important to note that applicants are required to provide a cash match of 25% of the requested amount in eligible expenses.

This opportunity is open to applicants in a wide range of states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

Application Period: The application window is open now until March 1. 

Why Apply?: If you’re using or planning to upgrade or switch to a electronic milk metering technology then this grant can significantly reduce the financial burden. Investing in your farm is always a wise choice,  but a Piper System not only boosts your farm’s efficiency but also aligns with the grant’s focus on maximizing farm output through precision technology. Recording data for every precious drop of milk you produce.

From our perspective:

Piper Systems milk metering technology aligns perfectly with the opportunities presented by the Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative’s (SDBII) ‘Precision Technology & Management Grant’. This grant, offering up to $150,000.00 in funding, is a game changer for dairy farms looking to improve efficiency and productivity through advanced technology.

Cost-Effectiveness: The grant requires a 25% cash match of the requested amount. Investing in PIPER Systems technology can be a cost effective solution, leveraging the grant to cover a significant portion of the expense.

Easy Integration: PIPER Systems’ products are designed to integrate smoothly into existing farm setups. This ease of integration means less downtime and a quicker path to realizing the benefits of precision technology.

Support and Guidance: Our team at PIPER Systems is committed to supporting dairy farmers throughout the grant application process. We can provide insights and assistance to ensure that your application highlights the potential benefits of integrating our technology into your farm operations.

Long-Term Benefits: Investing in PIPER Systems technology is not just about meeting immediate needs; it’s about setting up your dairy farm for long-term success. Our technology is designed to evolve and adapt to future challenges in the dairy industry.

Piper Systems Milk Collection Website 017

S3 Food Grant

Leigh Hamiliton - CEO

The smartest delivery from mega farms to the dairy.

The STORYTELLER project has been selected to receive an S3FOOD application voucher. Leigh Hamilton from lead SME Piper Systems explains how the integrated smart sensor system will raise food safety and quality standards, reduce waste and improve efficiency in the dairy value chain.

Dairy companies don’t always get what they count on when milk arrives from the farms for processing. Variations in butter fat, compromised milk quality and poor traceability are just some of the issues they face. For the farmers, that creates uncertainty about milk payment.

Irish dairy technology company Piper Systems believes it can solve all those challenges by integrating multiple sensor technologies in one intelligent system.

According to CEO Leigh Hamilton, the rise of large dairy farms with more than 1,000 head of cattle makes accuracy a major challenge when sampling, metering and tracing the milk supply.

“The average size of dairy herds is increasing all over the world. In the US, some farms have 10,000 animals. That means, they have large on-farm storage facilities to keep large volumes of milk cool and ready for transport.

“A 50ml to 100ml milk sample is analysed to determine the composition of butter fat, proteins and solids and overall milk quality in an entire silo. The problem is that milk is a stratifying liquid. So samples taken from storage silos are often not representative.”

Knock-on effect
Non-representative sampling has a huge knock-on effect for dairy companies, as the milk quality they receive often does not match expectation. Another risk factor lies in the manual measurement and recording of some critical milk quality parameters. Late discovery of human errors can, at worst, result in expensive product recalls from the market and considerable milk waste.

“Poor samples are a source of disputes between processors and farmers, who get paid according to the quality of their milk. Fair pay is also something we emphasise in the design of our systems,” Leigh says.

Accuracy and efficiency
Piper Systems partnered with stainless steel equipment supplier DC Fabrication to develop an intelligent solution. Powered by proven smart sensor technologies, the system is designed to deliver accurate metering of milk volume and full traceability of the milk. High-speed pumping technology ensures efficient milk transfer, reducing loading time and ensuring tanker capacity is
used to a maximum.

Accurate milk analyses are made possible by Piper Systems’ continuous sampling technology. Without coming into contact with the milk, sensors gather the necessary data to provide a reliable overview of milk composition and temperature. Farmers also get feedback about whether the cleaning processes in their milk storage system meet the necessary hygienic standards.

Field test in the US
With S3FOOD funding, the integrated system will now be tested in action. The first trial is in collaboration with Dairy Farmers of America, where many large dairy farms are in operation. For Leigh and Piper Systems, it’s a moment of truth.

“Piper Systems has made systems for measuring and sampling milk for more than 25 years, but this is the first time we have put them together in one solution to address the specific challenges of these very large farms. A number of people have asked us to look into these issues in the dairy supply chain, so we are very keen to deliver.”

Piper Systems Hero

Piper is FDA Approved

Leigh Hamiliton - CEO

FDA Acceptance

PIPER DYNASTREAM SECURES FDA ACCEPTANCE FOR AUTOMATED MILK COLLECTION

The US Dairy Industry is changing rapidly, with more and more demands on efficiency and traceability. Piper’s DynaStream System automates milk weights and sampling, and gives 100% traceability from farm to plant. These systems are standard in other parts of the world for milk collection but, until now, have not been approved for use in the USA. The DynaStream has recently been accepted for use at the 2019 NCIMS Conference by the issue of M-I-20-04.

Piper collaborated with the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets and USDA Market Administrator- Northeast Milk Marketing Area to design a rigorous testing regime and produce sufficient data to go forward to the Conference. Piper undertook a series of FDA-mandated studies over a period of several years. These studies proved extremely high correlation between Piper milk weights and samples to “Gold Standard” milk collection by Federal Order officials. It also evidenced the hygienic design of the Piper system of milk collection.

At the Conference, the proposal and data were examined and passed by the Laboratory Committee, the Transportation Committee and the Scientific Advisory Committee, before going forward to Council II and finally being approved on the Conference floor by 49 States out of 50. The dissent was only around a late wording change about which authority was required to maintain the register of trained operators. However, support for the principles behind the Piper DynaStream- representative sampling, accurate milk weights, and improved traceability through automation- was unanimous. As a result, Piper are now the only systems for automated milk collection and sampling that have successfully undergone these studies and achieved federal acceptance in the USA. Piper’s system is also the only one approved as a legal for payment device across the USA by the weights and measures authority, NCWM.

This technology is already live across some states in the North East, and is expected to be deployed in more and more States into 2021. “We are engaged in a huge project here” says Piper CEO Leigh Hamilton. “It has been an incredible amount of work, because US standards are so rigorous. But the prize is enormous- to be the first and only company permitted to supply this cutting-edge technology into the world’s largest Dairy market.” Forward thinking Dairy companies in the USA are already aware of the technology, and see how useful it could be in their supply chain.

Companies like Danone, AgriMark and DFA have already introduced the systems on their routes on a local basis, and more roll outs are planned for 2021. Industry experts are aligned on the potential for improvement: Barb Koetzlow, Dairy Program Manager at Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development had this to say: “This is a game changer for the quality of milk samples being collected at dairy farms.”

For more information or if you have any questions or comments please contact Leigh Hamilton of Piper Systems leigh@pipersystems.com

World Dairy Expo 2021 Piper Systems

Piper systems to feature in World Dairy Expo 2021 Spotflight event

World Dairy Expo 2021 -

Piper Systems to feature in World Dairy Expo Tech Spotlight 2021.

Hosted by AgriTech Capital with support from World Dairy Expo, the Spotlight brings together elite dairy tech and gives them the opportunity to meet with top dairy farmers, virtually or physically.

World Dairy Expo 2021 Piper Systems

World Dairy Expo Tech Spotlight Brings New Products to Light.

MADISON, WIS. – For years, World Dairy Expo® has been the place to introduce new ideas and innovations to the global dairy industry. The World Dairy Expo Tech Spotlight takes this tradition to the next level by creating a platform, both virtually and in Madison, for dairy technology start-ups to formally present their ideas to dairy producers around the globe.

The 2021 World Dairy Expo Tech Spotlight will be hosted virtually on September 16, 2021 at 1 p.m. (CST) with free event registration available now at https://www.wdetechspotlight.com/ This online component will be followed by an in-person event taking place during World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin on September 28 at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

Hosted by AgriTech Capital with support from World Dairy Expo, the Spotlight brings together elite dairy tech start-ups and gives them the opportunity to meet with top dairy farmers, virtually or physically. 

“All the start-ups selected propose solutions that solve a critical problem for dairy producers and as a result help them maximize efficiencies and increase profitability. This is an extraordinary opportunity for them to show their products in action,” shares Aidan Connolly, AgriTech Capital President. 

Both the virtual and in-person components of the World Dairy Expo Tech Spotlight will be divided into two parts, a showcase of the innovations followed by a panel discussion with industry experts including: Marcia Endres, PhD, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Animal Science, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Trevor DeVries, PhD, Professor and Canada Research Chair, Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph; and Jeffrey Bewley, PhD, Analytics and Innovation Scientist, Holstein Association, USA.

Each featured start-up has digitally based technology for the dairy industry such as robots, cameras, and sensors and addresses a specific need identified by producers like feed bunk management, cow behavior monitoring, cow health, milk quality, manure treatment or labor efficiencies. Amongst the companies participating in this year’s edition are Advanced Animal Diagnostics, Cainthus, HerdDogg, Labby, Livestock Water Recycling , Milc group, PharmRobotics, Piper Systems and SmaXtec.

“These technologies, and those found in the Trade Show at World Dairy Expo, can help dairy producers in many aspects on the farm,” says Scott Bentley, World Dairy Expo General Manager. “Expo is pleased to have a part in offering the WDE Tech Spotlight both virtually and in-person at WDE 2021 in Madison, Wisconsin this fall.”

Serving as the meeting place of the global dairy industry, World Dairy Expo brings together the latest in dairy innovation and the best cattle in North America. Crowds of 60,000 people, from nearly 100 countries, will return to Madison, Wis. for the 54th event, September 28 – October 2, 2021, when the world’s largest dairy-focused trade show, dairy and forage seminars, a world-class dairy cattle show and more will be on display. 

Download the World Dairy Expo mobile event app, visit worlddairyexpo.com or follow WDE on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Spotify, Instagram or YouTube for more information

Cutline: The World Dairy Expo Tech Spotlight includes an on-line event on September 16 and an in-person event taking place during World Dairy Expo on September 28 at 10:00 a.m. (CST).

DynaStream – Automated Milk Collection System

Holly Miller Joins Piper Systems

Holly Miller Joins the PIPER Team as Farm Liaison officer

Piper Systems, a leading dairy technology company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Holly Miller as the Farm Liaison Officer for the Southeast region of the United States.

Holly brings a wealth of experience to the role, having been a key manager and integral part of the incredible Southern Cross Dairy Farm, in Florida which is well-renowned as an example of cutting-edge dairy practice