SwineTech combines ag, innovation to streamline pig care

What do the medical field and pig farming have in common? More than you might think, according to SwineTech co-founders Matthew Rooda and Abraham Espinoza. SwineTech is a global agtech software company that uses artificial intelligence to aid pork producers in managing their day-to-day operations. The software also uses sensor technologies to prevent piglet deaths […]

What do the medical field and pig farming have in common? More than you might think, according to SwineTech co-founders Matthew Rooda and Abraham Espinoza. SwineTech is a global agtech software company that uses artificial intelligence to aid pork producers in managing their day-to-day operations. The software also uses sensor technologies to prevent piglet deaths due to crushing by their sows, a big problem for pig farmers.  Mr. Rooda, CEO of SwineTech who hails from a multigenerational line of pork producers, said his tenure as a premed student and a nurse/medication aide in a retirement home helped him see many similarities between healthcare and animal agriculture. “In trying to move away from the farm to try and go into medicine, medicine actually pushed me back into the farm,” Mr. Rooda said. When his school, the University of Iowa, sent out an email announcing a grant for students with an innovative business concept, Mr. Rooda attended out of curiosity–and an idea started percolating from there. Why not invent a sensor that keeps sows from rolling onto their piglets? An estimated 15% of preweaned piglets die each year, most occuring within the first three days after birth, which can add up to millions of dollars of lost revenue.

Mr. Rooda called his roommate, computer science major Abraham Espinoza, and said they “needed to talk.” “He kind of thought that I broke something in the apartment, or something,” Mr. Rooda said. 

SmartGuard

The idea for SmartGuard was born, a device that detects when a piglet is in distress from rollover and sends signals to the sow to move. Mr. Espinoza worked up a CAD file, but a few challenges cropped up – in order to effectively use voice recognition in their prototype, they needed to identify the difference between the sounds of a piglet in distress versus hungry; triangulate the position of the piglet; incentivize the sow to stand up; and develop a physical device that could fit comfortably and safely on the sow.  Mr. Rooda and Mr. Espinoza recruited John Rourke, the third founder, and he researched audio, algorithms and physical prototypes. Multiple iterations and 3D printings were done until they came up with a successful prototype, which was perfected through trial-and-error on different pig farms.  The initial reaction to SmartGuard was positive. Mr. Rooda said there was some excitement in the industry, but concerns with its practicality and effectiveness. To date, the technology has saved millions of pigs.

Covid causes shift

The company pivoted in 2020 during the pandemic. “We had no way of assessing whether the utilization or effectiveness of technologies or processes were appropriate. And with our technology, we were selling it on the premise that we were going to save pigs,” said Mr. Rooda. This is when they developed PigFlow, a herd management platform inspired by point-of-care platforms in patient management systems through the healthcare industry. “How do we take some of our core concepts from health industries and bring it as a foundational infrastructure for compliance and quality of care?” Mr. Rooda said they asked themselves. PigFlow streamlines emergency care, communication, daily workflows, administrative tasks and herd diagnostics all on one platform.

Room for expansion

While there are other swine technologies that exist, SwineTech is the only pig software company in Iowa, giving it the home-grown advantage in a global market. Mr. Espinoza and Rooda say another advantage is their diverse backgrounds – Mr. Espinoza comes from Mexico with a different background and perspective than most Iowans, and Mr. Rooda comes from a producer background, making for an effective partnership.  Mr. Espinoza said being people-focused has helped grow their business. “People need to be the core of the solution,” he said. Currently, SwineTech is located in Solon, an easy drive for employees located in Johnson county. The office is located in the old Brosh funeral home with a view of the cemetery, but, “at least we have a pond,” Mr. Rooda and Mr. Espinoza joke. The Solon location also fits the requirement to be rural-based, a stipulation of one of their top investors. PigFlow is being used in the U.S., Canada and Australia, with an eye on other prospective countries. “Pretty much everywhere we’ve gone, people have been really thrilled about it,” said Mr. Rooda. Since its inception, the business has grown 1000%, going from four employees to 16. The business has made such a splash that Mr. Espinoza and Rooda were featured in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in 2018, an honor they say was validating but ultimately pushed them to keep innovating. SwineTech has been featured on CNN, Forbes, the Boston Globe, NBC News, and various ag news websites.