Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool identifies most promising solutions

To identify market solutions to dairy industry challenges, The VINE and Wageningen Livestock Research - Dairy Campus have released their novel Global Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool.

The Hague, NL – The dairy industry in both California and the Netherlands faces four major challenges: manure management, enteric methane, labor, and sustainability measurements and standards. To identify existing and emerging market solutions and assess the impact of these solutions across the four categories and animal welfare, an innovation assessment tool has been created.

The VINE, an initiative of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Wageningen Livestock Research - Dairy Campus have released their novel Global Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool. This tool is the first step in a joint dairy collaborative aimed at promoting sustainable, climate-smart agriculture for a better future.

"The partnership between The VINE and Wageningen Livestock Research - Dairy Campus has enabled us to combine our expertise and insights to create an overview of these key challenges and opportunities for the dairy industry,” said Gabe Youtsey, chief innovation officer for UC ANR. “Understanding this landscape of innovation allows us to leverage our shared resources to support and drive the commercialization of solutions.”  

“Innovation is key for the future development of the dairy sector in both countries” said Kees de Koning, manager Innovation at Dairy Campus. 

This tool provides a snapshot of the current state of innovation addressing some of the challenges in the dairy industry, showcasing innovative technologies and products that are, or have the potential to, make a difference on a global scale. By identifying the most promising solutions and encouraging collaboration among key industry players, the team aims to drive further progress toward a sustainable dairy industry.

The database lists companies, identifies which challenges their product addresses and ranks the maturity of the product from “proof of concept” to “mature.”

“This Global Dairy Industry Innovation Assessment Tool is designed to give insights on the opportunities and tradeoffs inherent in deploying any new technology,” said Mareese Keane, co-founder of Opengate and partner of The VINE. “It is a living database and any companies that want to add or update their entry are invited to get in touch."

To complement the assessment tool, The Vine and Wageningen dairy collaboration are working on the following projects:

1. Building Blocks for Virtual Future Farm: Envisioning a theoretical farm with zero emissions or maximum circularity by leveraging Dutch precision technology and California large-scale farming expertise.
2. The VINE VIP (Validation of Innovations Project): Focusing first on value-added products from manure, participants will look for technologies that provide value-added products at scale from manure, beyond energy and direct application as fertilizer.
3. A delegation of California-based dairy industry innovators and operators are invited to join an innovation tour of the Dutch dairy industry, starting Nov. 6. 

Click here to view the Dairy Innovation Assessment Tool: https://airtable.com/shrMIHqbWNnwhJs8y/tblN8IzvBQ5kAwSou 

For more information about the Dairy Innovation Assessment Tool, how the companies included were selected, and how to submit or update additional entries, please visit https://thevine.io/towards-better-dairy-global-innovation-landscape. 

About The VINE: The VINE, an initiative of the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, is California's agriculture, food and biotech innovation network. The VINE aims to harness the power of open innovation to help industries and entrepreneurs grow and scale globally while catalyzing technology innovation and commercialization for productive, sustainable, and equitable food systems.

About Wageningen Livestock Research - Dairy Campus: Wageningen Dairy Campus is a leading research institution in the Netherlands focused on dairy farming and sustainability. The Dairy Campus provides a platform for education, research and innovation, bringing together industry partners, academi, and government organizations to advance sustainable practices in the dairy sector.

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