News
DFA announces new accelerator cohort
8 Apr 2019Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), a national cooperative owned by family farmers, has announced the companies participating in the 2019 DFA Accelerator program.
These seven companies will engage in a 90-day immersive program, which is part of the Sprint Accelerator program that runs through June.
Startups in two verticals — ag tech and dairy food products — will work directly with leaders from DFA, CoBank, Sprint and other industry experts and mentors to create strategic, long-term partnerships.
“It has been rewarding to help mentor these entrepreneurs, and we’re thrilled to get started with another class for this year’s DFA Accelerator. Plus, we’ve found that we learn along the way too,” said Monica Massey, executive vice president and chief of staff at DFA. “By working and collaborating with ag tech and dairy food startup companies, we’re helping develop solutions that will not only provide value for our farm families and their operations, but will also help drive consumer demand for dairy.”With the DFA Accelerator, the ag tech and dairy food product companies selected will receive mentorship, connections and resources to help accelerate their growth. Features of the 90-day program include:+ Targeted, strategic meetings with the corporate teams to discuss business development, pilots and potential sponsorships+ Mentoring from DFA senior staff and their networks, as well as from the investor, business development and entrepreneurial communities+ Business building sessions around product, brand, marketing and entrepreneurship+ State-of-the-art workspace facilities provided at Sprint Accelerator in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts DistrictThe 2019 DFA Accelerator class includes:+ Bezoar Laboratories (Bryan, Texas): Bezoar’s current innovation is a patent-pending probiotic for cattle that, when paired with nitrate, decreases their methane production by 50 percent, while providing additional benefits+ Cattle Care (San Francisco): Using low-cost video cameras, Cattle Care detects, recognizes and tracks every cow as well as business processes and makes decisions for the farmer about the treatment of a particular cow or a whole barn+ Healthy Cow (Toronto, Canada): Healthy Cow is an ag-biotechnology helping dairy farmers to produce more wholesome, natural and nutritious milk while simultaneously reducing their dependence on antibiotics and hormones+ Labby (Boston): Labby is an artificial intelligence-powered smartphone platform for food and agro analytics+ Brooklyn Buttery (Brooklyn, N.Y.): Brooklyn Buttery is reimagining butter for the 21st century as a fun, convenient product for home cooks to turn up the flavour on their dishes using sustainably sourced ingredients+ Numa (Bridgewater, N.J.): Numa makes all-natural sweet, chewy milk treats with just six natural ingredients and four grams of protein+ RifRaf (Brooklyn, N.Y.): RifRaf offers cool, creamy ricotta cups that are one part cheese and one part unexpectedly delicious flavourRelated news
Danone removes NutriScore from products
20 Sep 2024
Following an algorithm update that gives some of its sweetened drinks a worse score, Danone has removed the front-of-pack label, NutriScore, from all of its products – putting profit before public health, say campaigners.
Read moreChobani develops shelf-stable, prebiotic-enriched Super Milk
12 Sep 2024
Chobani has launched a prebiotic-enriched, shelf-stable, high-protein dairy milk to support people in disaster zones who need a nutritious drink that does not require refrigeration.
Read moreTesco trials methane mitigation supplement for dairy cattle
5 Sep 2024
Tesco is trialing a methane-reducing feed supplement for one of its key UK dairy farms, sustainable UK milk producer Grosvenor Farms.
Read moreSheep and goat plague: A new threat to Greece’s feta production
27 Aug 2024
A recent goat and sheep plague outbreak threatens feta production in Greece. The flagship product accounts for roughly 10% of the country’s food exports, but Greek authorities say there is no cause for concern.
Read moreNestlé develops a new fat reduction method for dairy ingredients
26 Aug 2024
A Brazil-based Nestlé research and development team has developed a way to reduce the fat in milk powder by as much as 60%, without impacting the key characteristics that consumers enjoy.
Read moreDutch court rules against plant-based butter brand ‘Roombeter’: Only dairy products allowed to use the word ‘cream’
26 Jul 2024
A Dutch court has ruled against Upfield’s plant-based butter, Roombeter, stating that its use of the word ‘room’ (cream) in the product name violates European regulations that protect dairy-related terms allowed for dairy products only.
Read moreHow will Denmark’s 2030 carbon tax impact farming?
12 Jul 2024
Denmark has announced plans to implement Europe’s first carbon tax on agriculture from 2030, targetting the farming sector’s CO2 emissions. How will it be implemented and how have farmers reacted?
Read moreSweden updates front-of-pack Keyhole labelling rules
11 Jul 2024
The Swedish Food Agency has announced updates to the voluntary Keyhole logo, used in four Nordic countries, following recommendations to improve nutrition labelling.
Read moreConsumers dislike faba beans’ sensory profile
3 Jun 2024
Consumers display low acceptance of faba beans, with sensory properties such as bitterness a core concern, a study suggests. However, for product varieties such as cocoa-free chocolate, this attribute could prove to be a benefit.
Read moreFood scientists uncover new way to preserve nutrient and flavour quality
29 May 2024
Researchers have developed a method that guarantees food safety for low-moisture products, such as dried milk, while maximising quality by retaining vitamins, minerals, and flavours, they say.
Read more