How do you prevent a minor livestock disease outbreak from becoming a full-‐scale epidemic? New tracking software from a Guelph-‐based company may hold the answer.
Containing the next Avian Influenza (bird flu) or Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus means stopping potential carriers from spreading it from one farm to the next. But tracking the comings and goings of every visitor can be a nightmare.
Even if visitor record books are used, they don’t always get filled in. And when you’re up against the clock, manually gathering, inputting and analyzing tens of thousands of records from hundreds of farms can result in deadly delays.
Compare that to Be Seen Be Safe’s system. Using GPS coordinates, the biosecurity firm can erect virtual “geofences” around any farm, feedlot or other agricultural premise.
Once that’s up, anyone with the free Be Seen Be Safe app on their smartphone will trigger a signal the moment they enter the vicinity of a geofenced property, automatically logging their visit. Otherwise the app remains inactive — a key feature for users with privacy concerns.
“When there’s a disease outbreak, we can basically hit a button and have it automatically show us where the people who’ve been on the potentially infectious farm came from and where they went,” says Be Seen Be Safe President and CEO Tim Nelson.
The possibilities go beyond disease control. Got a vet coming by while you’re in the backfield? Have the system shoot you a text when she’s arrived. Expecting a late-‐night delivery of feed? Set it up so your gate unlocks when the supplier gets close.
To help bring the venture to life, Nelson turned to Bioenterprise. For starters, the agri-‐ business accelerator helped Be Seen Be Safe secure a grant to get the software up and running.
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