Who would have thought that an udder could be worth millions? In a Series-A investment, agritech startup Mastiline received more than a million in funding from NOM, Doefonds Fryslân and SHIFT Invest. The Dutch startup specializes in early detection of udder infection (mastitus) in cows; a big and costly problem for many dairy farmers across the globe.
Easy-to-use system
Mastiline created a easy-to-use system which can be integrated in milking systems and robots – dairy farmers can implement the systems into their daily operation easily. Mastitus is one of the biggest problems in the dairy industry. Early detection of the (potentially fatal) udder infection will prevent cows from getting seriously ill. This improves the health of the herd significantly, which has a positive effect on the overall yield and quality of dairy from the cows. Another advantage of early detection is that less antibiotics are required in keeping the herd healthy, which makes for better, more healthy dairy products.
Mastiline improves efficiency
“Our fund is proud to provide Mastiline the opportunity to further develop and benefit from a dairy focused region,” says Diederik Jongema, Investment Manager at Doefonds Fryslân, one of the companies that is investing in the startup. “Mastiline’s tool is a solution to dairy farmers to better track the health of the animals, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. “ The Frisian investor provides risk-bearing capital in the form of subordinated loans and share capital for innovative companies that are established in the province of Fryslân.
Distance from the cow
Evert van de Werfhorst, CEO of Mastiline:“We believe sensors are essential in improving company processes. In the labor intensive dairy sector, automatization (robots) is well advanced. As a consequence, the farmer will get more distant from the individual cow. Mastiline offers a solution that provides real time insights of the animals. This provides not only convenience but will also enable the farmer to improve the efficiency of the operation.”
