Disease-detecting tool could be in livestock producers’ hands by next year

Aug 14, 2017

Researchers from the University of Guelph developed the tool

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A hand-held device capable of quickly identifying livestock diseases could be in the hands of Ontario producers next year, according to one of the instrument’s creators.

“We’ve been negotiating with some manufacturing companies who are major players in this area,” Suresh Neethirajan, a University of Guelph engineering professor and director of the school’s BioNano Laboratory, told Farms.com. “Hopefully in a year or so farmers can see the product available.”

In May, his team received a US$125,000 award to conduct field trials with the device, which is an improvement on current livestock testing methods.

And field tests showed farmers are encouraged by the tool’s potential.

“It drastically brings down the time and cost to receive results,” he said. “Right now, multiple vials of blood (each containing between 5 and 10 mL) need to be shipped from farms to a centralized lab. There are also shipping costs and refrigeration costs involved.

“And if the farm is in northern Ontario, there can be an even further delay to finding out the results.”

Prof. Suresh Neethirajan, left, and researcher Xuan Weng with the allergen detector.
Photo: University of Guelph

The device detects ketosis and other metabolic diseases in cows. It works similarly to how people with diabetes check their blood sugar levels, Neethirajan said.

A droplet of blood is placed on a cartridge and, after about 15 seconds, the cartridge is placed in a reader. Farmers can have results in around two minutes. The reader can identify specific biomarkers within the animal.

And more optimization will help farmers and their livestock teams manage herd health in a timelier manner.

“We’re looking at if we can identify multiple diseases from one droplet of blood,” Neethirajan said. “We’re also looking at if we can send the data in real time and incorporating Bluetooth technology so that a veterinarian can receive the information instantly.”

Further plans for optimization include sending the data to feeding systems to allow feed intake to be tailored for the animal’s specific needs and improving the device to detect bovine respiratory illnesses.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.