OUR STORY

StrongBó AgriTech was founded by Ivan Wahlrab & Micheál McInerney to tackle the growing need for innovation in the beef industry. An industry where extensive farming operations, harsh climates and large animals have hindered the frequency at which farmers can assess their daily output. The solution came from combining state-of-the-art technology with onsite farming practicality.

For beef farmers around the world, the efficiency at which they convert expensive inputs into valuable beef determines their success. In 2015, our first prototype was designed and built to continuously weigh cattle, providing detailed weight data and growth rates in real time with hardly any labour or stress. Previously to obtain this information, farmers either guessed by eye, or estimated with insufficient manual weight readings. Both methods are inaccurate, time consuming and dangerous. 
 
A decision to develop a system to continuously measure individual performance was made and after many prototypes, we had a fully functional automatic weighing platform backed up by data analytic algorithms and a fully functional software architecture. What came next was somewhat unexpected, animal illness identification could be obtained when analyzed by modern AI with astonishing accuracy. Not alone could the system output performance data at an individual level, but could also ID animals who were showing signs of illness.
 
The next three years consisted of further research and development. In 2019, we brought our first system to market in Ireland, and continued to refine the technology. Working with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation we were able to better understand the requirements for genetic progression and observe patterns within animal performances.

Irish beef production was not the only applicable market, and in 2020, we began refining our product to be effective in the much larger North American market. The differences between the two industries are immense. Ownership, financial incentives, hormones, beef prices, genetics, and production facilities to name a few. Regardless of the differences, the problems were the same. Customers from either side of the Atlantic say the same thing, “I don't have enough information”. In late 2020, and working with key customers we had devices onsite in North America feedlots. 

Solutions come with challenges, and the harsh environment of a CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) presents various challenges, including remote communications, +/- 40degC, snow & ice, and the abuse an 800kg animal can inflict on a piece of hardware. In solving these problems and more, the product, now called the Auto Weigher, has been designed and developed to stand up to the worlds harshest environments and roughest animals.

The next step is a big one! In early 2021, we proudly announced our partnership with Dr. Marty Metzger in ON, Canada. Marty had been developing similar technologies for the Ontario Beef Industry. Partnering with Marty has positioned us perfectly to help farmers reduce costs and provide a significant focus on animal welfare. 

In 2022, StrongBó secured a distribution partner in Gallagher Animal Management. The partnership with Gallagher has allowed us to use our agility and intensity of focus alongside their experience, scale and market reach. Further enhancements have been made to create a product that can be used in any cattle market in the world.

In 2023, StrongBó expanded its team to support its 2024 launch. We recruited Paul Scannell to head up our commercial transition and Joshua Shaw to support our engineering team and streamline our processes. With this passionate team StrongBó aspires to move the needle on beef industry technology with Gallagher’s backing.

The resulting Auto Weigher is a large part of Gallaghers next generation of animal performance monitoring technologies. Made by StrongBó, and distributed by Gallagher, the Auto Weigher is now available globally!