PBS documentary features Iowa inventors whose tech prevents sows from crushing piglets
An eastern Iowa company behind a device that deters sows from accidentally crushing their piglets is creating software that helps livestock farmworkers better care for pigs, inspired by technology that aids in health care for people.
“We took the whole model of patient management in nursing homes and hospitals — the software solutions that exist there — and then we develop that specifically for animal agriculture,” said Matthew Rooda, who founded Solon-based SwineTech with Abraham Espinoza when they were University of Iowa students.
“We're elevating the care provided animals to that of human health,” said Rooda, CEO of SwineTech, which has landed $6.3 million from investors.
Rooda and Espinoza are two of the 12 inventors featured in PBS’ “Pathways to Invention” documentary, released May 1. Here’s what to know about the company, its technology and its founders.
How did the SwineTech entrepreneurs get the idea for the anti-crushing device?
Rooda grew up on an Iowa farm, working in his family’s hog operation. Early one morning before school, he found a sow had laid on and crushed to death eight of her 12 piglets. He removed the dead piglets and went back to work, then returned to find she had crushed two more.
“I was so angry and frustrated that these healthy little pigs died because we didn’t have a heads up ... or a way to save them when we were away,” Rooda told the documentary film crew. “That’s when it came to my mind that I have to solve this problem.”
Are piglets getting crushed by their mothers a big problem?
About 160 million piglets are crushed worldwide annually, Rooda said, calling it “the largest problem we as pork producers face when it comes to mortality.”
How does SwineTech’s SmartGuard work?
Rooda and Espinoza developed a system employing a monitor that uses artificial intelligence to recognize when a piglet is in distress by detecting its struggles and squeals. Via a bluetooth connection, it sends a signal to a small device the sow wears, releasing an electrical impulse that prompts he mother to move. It “autonomously saves that pig,” Rooda said.
Rooda's grandmother sewed an early version of SwineTech's wearable device, which hass since undergone further development.
"It's simple for a human to put on a glucose monitor or Apple watch. It's a bigger challenge with a several-hundred-pound animal," said Levi Maaia, one of the PBS documentary film producers.
How did Rooda and Espinoza develop the system?
When Rooda and Espinoza were UI juniors in 2015, Rooda's father asked Rooda if he had ever decided to pursue his idea of saving piglets. Around that time, Rooda heard about a competition that offered $3,000 to develop a product idea. Espinoza told the filmmakers he and Rooda developed a product plan during a Christmas break phone call, sketching it out on a napkin.
How did COVID-19 affect the business?
The global pandemic forced U.S. meatpacking plants to close as workers became ill. The supply-chain disruptions caused some pork producers to destroy pigs they couldn’t slaughter. The financial turmoil meant producers were unable to invest in tech like SmartGuard, Rooda told the Des Moines Register.
The company pivoted, with its members working together virtually to create a software product called PigFlow. It helps pork producers manage everyday care at sow farms, coordinate workers’ tasks and priorities, and meet new compliance requirements like those laid down by California’s Proposition 12, which mandates more space for sows.
The software provides mobile data on everything from workers’ daily tasks to pig nutrition and medical care to monitoring sows and piglets and recordkeeping. It even translates the information into different languages, reflecting workforce diversity.
More: Iowa pork producers face meeting California animal welfare law at time of mounting losses
SwineTech developed the platform in a year.
“If we wanted to stay viable as a business, we were gonna have to move fast,” said Rooda.
A pre-med student before creating SwineTech, he drew on his experience working in nursing homes and hospitals to help guide the company’s new platform.
What’s next for SwineTech?
SwineTech is improving the care provided 375,000 sows and 12 to 13 million pigs, Rooda says. He’d like to create software platforms for poultry, dairy and other livestock producers. He also has plans to expand the availability of SwineTech’s products globally.
What's the message from 'Pathways to Invention?'
One theme from the film is perseverance, Maaia said.
"Talk to any successful person in almost any field, whether it's STEM-related, athletics, business, agriculture, you're gonna find that people come up against challenges all the time," he said.
Those who are successful "are willing to go up against the odds, to not take no for an answer, and to move forward with an alternative to the one that doesn't work," he said.
How can I watch the show?
"Pathways to Invention" is scheduled to air on Iowa PBS' World channel at 8 p.m. May 7, 1 and 9 a.m. May 8 and 3 a.m. May 12. You can stream it anytime using Iowa PBS' free app, available on Google Play.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa invention preventing sows from crushing piglets featured on PBS
