News
New Bobby Calf App
QCONZ in the News
New Zealand Food – April / May 2018
MIA Focus
AgResearch Meat Industry Workshop Report
Participants also got a first glance of the new bobby calf-tracking application, designed for use by all members of the value chain, including farmers, transporters and processors, and being trialled at four meat plants during the autumn calving season.
The app is an MIA project that sprung out of work by the bobby calf working group, chaired by McColl. It essentially replaces a paper-based system introduced 12 months ago. Designed by QCONZ, the easy-to-use app features drop down menus to enable use on farm and by transporters – once they have confirmed the health of the animals being loaded – to advise the processor of the number of calves to expect and the estimated time of arrival so they can have yards and amenities ready and waiting, he explains. The app also gives feedback directly to farmers suppliers. If any calves are unfit for transport, the farmer can also be advised they were not transported.
Other updates were given on nine MIA Innovation projects looking at: decontamination risk, quorum sensing, lamb colour, ultimate pH, TSN for chillers, smartphones, an ultrasonic knife and other emerging technologies.
There was also an update on progress on the work of the new Food Safety Science Research Centre led by Professor Nigel French, including new of the start of construction of the new joint Food Science Centre in Palmerston North, which will feature a mini meat processing plant.