SwineTech receives strategic minority investment

SwineTech, a farm management company based in Solon that helps pork producers ensure transparent, individualized care for pigs, has received a strategic minority investment from  Pig Improvement Company (PIC).

PIC, a subsidiary of United Kingdom-based Genus, is a global leader in swine genetics that provides breeding stock to pig producers and supports them with technical services.

SwineTech and PIC’s relationship will work to improve the “predictability and efficiency of swine production,” PIC said in the release.

“Inspired by human health, we created a novel workforce and swine management platform [PigFlow] that enhances the producer’s ability to ensure consistent and compliant care by equipping their people with the right information to be successful,” said Matthew Rooda, CEO and co-founder, in a statement. “Naturally, PIC was the clear progression towards providing producers with a more holistic approach to pig care to help maximize the herd’s genetic potential.”

SwineTech helps pig producers collect data, collaborate and track outcomes through a task management system. It was founded by Mr. Rooda, Abraham Espinoza and John Rourke.

The company was named AgTech and BioTech Company of the Year in November at the 2022 Prometheus Awards in Des Moines.

“Throughout our 60 years, we have been driven to increase customer success by delivering ever-improving genetic potential and providing service and support to enable our customers to be the most successful pork producers in the world,” says Matt Culbertson, PIC global product development director, in a press release. “We are motivated to help identify and support the development of additional tools like SwineTech’s innovative PigFlow product that utilize new technology and fresh ideas to further enable our customers to predictably, efficiently and consistently realize genetic potential.”

In April 2020, SwineTech secured $5 million in funding from Innova Memphis and other investors including Johnsonville Ventures, AG Ventures Alliance, Quake Capital, SVE Capital and The Berkeley Catalyst Fund.

Mr. Rooda and Mr. Espinoza received a $3,000 grant from the John Pappajohn Founders Club Fair in 2015 after pitching a voice recognition technology that would prevent pigs from dying due to their mothers rolling on them shortly after birth, according to SwineTech’s website. That technology became known as SmartGuard.

The company was accepted into the Iowa Startup Accelerator in 2016, while PigFlow was not developed until 2020.