Timeline - Inspiration
[April - May]

Timeline - Ideation
[June - August]

OUR PROGRESS: Just from preliminary interviewing, we realized that there was a dire need for the prevention and detection of bovine mastitis. Our wet lab team started work on a bacteriocin treatment, choosing genes based on Dr. Nydam's advice. Our product development team concentrated on prevention, and narrowed their ideas down to a multi-purpose milking shell with different modules: an automatic post-dip disinfectant, a flow rate sensor, a cold shock, a temperature sensor, and a UV sterilizer. Our CS/ECE subteam focused on the detection of mastitis and created an app with several features including: a resource for symptoms, a somatic cell counter with a microscope attachment, a data analysis section, and a cost calculator. We brought these concepts to experts in the ideation phase to get feedback and constantly improve our designs.

QUESTION: What do you like and what would you change about our product?

FINDINGS: Experts were receptive to bacteriocins and had no problem with the safety of it. The temperature sensor, UV light, iodine spray, and cold shock were all seen as important modules, but not all farmers wanted all of the modules. The flow sensor was not needed, and the app was most useful on big farms that use traditional milking processes.

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  July 15, 2016
  Milkrite
  Johnson Creek, WI

  Milkrite, a division of Avon Rubber and Plastics, is the world’s largest provider of dairy rubber wear. We reached out to Tom Votny. During our conversation, we learned about the current state of the milking machine market, what technologies had already been developed for shells and liners, how products were typically tested, and how large companies conduct their market research. Tom emphasized that farmer feedback is essential to making sure that our project as a whole succeeds in the marketplace. We began contacting as many farms as we could to gather that feedback.

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  July 25, 2016
  Muranda Cheese Company
  Waterloo, NY

  With sketches in hand, we went to the Muranda Cheese Company, a 90-cow farm located in Waterloo, NY. We talked to Blane Murray, who told us that our idea as a whole was valuable because it includes a preventative measure for bovine mastitis. We showed him our proposed sketches for the milking shell with various modules, and he indicated that the most useful modules would be the temperature sensor, UV light, iodine spray, and cold shock. Blane said that our app would be more useful for bigger and more technologically advanced farms, and referred us to two more farms we could speak to. Blane also pointed out the importance of cost effectiveness. Farmers want to know that our device works, and whether they are going to get a return on their investment.

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  July 28, 2016
  Quality Milk Production Services
  Ithaca, NY

  We went back to speak with Daryl Nydam of Quality Milk Production Services now that our ideas were more fleshed out. Dr. Nydam lent us a field guide for bovine mastitis that gave us a solid foundation of how we should move forward with bacteriocin testing, and agreed to provide us with infected milk samples that we could use as test targets. We asked Dr. Nydam how we would know if our product was successful. He answered that if we could show that bacteriocins work better than antibiotics, then it could be a home run.

  
  

  For our milking shell, Dr. Nydam liked the iodine spray, UV light, and cold shock modules. He did not think the temperature sensor or the flow sensor were necessary as they were already implemented in farms, or were not good indicators for prevention. He mentioned that the iodine spray module would contaminate the milk if we kept it at the top of the shell. He was particularly interested in the cold shock module for its innovation, but suggested that we talk to more experts to see whether cold shock would be physiologically effective.

  
  

  We also spoke to Dr. Nydam about our app. He recommended some academic literature that would help us with the economic analysis of treating or culling a cow. He was fascinated by the somatic cell counter and urged us to further pursue that option. While there are tests like the California Mastitis Test that already allow farmers to quickly detect mastitis, this new innovation could change the way the disease is approached and dealt with by farmers.

  
  

  Dr. Nydam praised us for choosing a project in the dairy industry because of the strong agricultural presence in New York, along with the connections that Cornell has. Overall, Dr. Nydam emphasized something that everyone we have met has said: farmers want ease and effectiveness.

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  August 1, 2016
  Windstott Farm
  Genoa, NY

  Windstott Farm has robotic milking machines, unlike other farms. We spoke to Bill Kilcer, the owner. Robot farms require very little human interaction - cows step into the machine as they need to, and sensors detect the teats before latching on. We watched the process and noticed that the iodine spray was automatically sprayed after milking, unlike other farms where a person had applied it manually. Bill told us that our ideas of having a temperature sensor and iodine spray built into the shell were already incorporated into the robots. He also said that our app would not be helpful for him because all the metrics that the milk samples are tested for, such as conductivity, temperature, and amount of fat and protein, are already stored in a computer. In addition, there was no need for CowMD since most of the farmers do not need information about symptoms. This feedback made us realize that our idea would be most helpful for bigger traditional dairy farms.

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  August 2, 2016
  Scipio Springs Dairy
  Union Springs, NY

  Scipio Springs Dairy is a large farm with 800 cows. We met with Bill Morgan, who looks over the operations of the dairy farm, and the herd manager of the farm. Bill was interested in implementing bacteriocins on his farm instead of traditional antibiotics. He was impressed by our modular idea for the shell because he believed that it was an all-encompassing prevention to bovine mastitis. Bill believed that the UV light would be a great alternative to the traditional use of heat because heat changes the functionality of the proteins in the milk as well as the milk’s flavor. He liked the temperature sensor idea because Gram-negative infections typically cause an increase in temperature. Bill Morgan was supportive of our idea, and was interested in testing our prototype and app once we finalized them.

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  August 4, 2016
  Dairy One Co-op Inc
  Ithaca, NY

  Dairy One is a dairy data management company that assists farmers in making farming decisions. We spoke with John Tauzel and James Zimmermann for feedback on our app. Dairy One supported the Somatic Cell Counter idea because it is convenient and innovative. For the cost calculator, they noted that calculating the overall profit/loss of the farm would be more beneficial than looking at individual cows. They suggested that the cow data show the effectiveness of the farmer’s practices, so that the farmer can review productivity and make long-term decisions.