A free herd management app for the beef sector has smashed its crowdfunding target just 24 hours into the campaign, raising over £1.6 million.
Initially opening to existing farmer members and investors, Breedr has now raised funds well beyond its initial £1 million target.
The Crowdcube campaign opened to the public on 25 October, and is likely to reach the investment ceiling far earlier than expected.
Breedr, which launched in 2019, now has more than 1,000 active farmers with 160,000 cattle registered on the platform.
Farmers use the app to record all of their livestock movements, weights and growth rates, and medicine usage.
They can also buy and sell cattle directly with other farmers, with nearly 4,500 animals – worth £3m – traded since January 2021.
The app aims to reduce the carbon impact of meat production by 30% by developing a sustainable data-driven livestock supply-chain.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with the support from our farmer members and investors,” said Ian Wheal, founder of Breedr.
“People are really keen to help make the beef supply chain more efficient, improving farmers’ profits and environmental footprints.
“We know that farmers support agri-tech businesses which are changing the industry for the better – based on the success of the Small Robot Company – but we’re genuinely touched that they share our vision of efficient, data-driven supply chains.”
Remus Brett, investment partner at LocalGlobe, said the time was right for such farmer-focussed technology to make real change.
“This is an enormous market that is still relatively undisrupted, so has huge potential. We think the timing is ideal."
The firm launched the world’s first long-term, minimum fixed beef contract in March, offering farmers the ability to borrow against their stock.
