Canterbury Researchers from Knewe Biosystems Limited announced on Friday they are launching a campaign on New Zealand’s equity crowdfunding platform, PledgeMe. The company is seeking to raise funds to develop and patent a new prebiotic supplement to improve digestive ability in cows and other livestock.
Sharing details about the project, technical director of Knewe Biosystems, Dr. Graeme Coles, stated:
“Although the concept of prebiotics to improve rumen function is well known, existing products only help to reduce methane output. What’s different about our product is that it helps the gut flora do their job more effectively. So animals are able to extract more nutrients from the same amount of feed, making them healthier, more productive and more profitable for the farmer.”
Knewe Biosystems also noted it already has strong evidence that shows the prebiotic does provide direct economic returns of 2-3 times the cost of product. It was reported:
“Over the last few years we have run two on-farm dairy trials in Southland, New Zealand. We gave cows our recommended daily dose of 400g per day. As well as benefiting from optimum magnesium levels, a faster recovery after calving and a good balance of weight gain to milk solids production, the cows also produced better quality milk through better feed use and less waste.”
It was also explained this past fall the trailed cows has 15% increase in milk solid and in the spring, there was a 23% increase. The company noted that based on a dairy farm with 400 cows, that’s an estimated $250,000 of extra profit per annum, or up to $1.70 profit per cow, per day.
Dr. Coles went on to add:
“Because the dairy industry is such a huge part of New Zealand’s economy – and a sector close to our hearts – we’re equity crowdfunding to get our prebiotics off the ground and into New Zealand farms first, starting in the South Island. We’re confident in the data from our trial results, we understand the science behind these results and we’re keen to share the advantages of our products more widely with New Zealand farmers.”
The new campaign is set to kick off on Sunday (September 25th).
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