The Livestack Podcast

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 25: Food Animal Welfare Data Collection for Audits – Past, Present, and Future

Before welfare became a scientific field and audit programs became standard, there was a time when farm assessments were built on instinct and good intentions rather than research and rigor. In this episode, Daniel Foy and Dr. Jim Reynolds return to the early 2000s to unpack the formation of the first on-farm food animal welfare audits in the United States.
They revisit how environmental failures in the swine industry unexpectedly laid the groundwork for audit systems, and how the National Pork Board pioneered one of the first welfare audit frameworks, later known as Validus. Jim reflects on joining the audit development team as the lone veterinarian with a conscience many called controversial but whose insistence on standards like shade access reshaped the dairy industry’s approach to welfare.
The conversation traces how these early audits evolved from a simple “walk-around and thumbs-up” into multi-metric systems with standards on shelter, water, space, and even animal behavior. Listeners will hear how progressive farms helped trial the early models, and how assessments transitioned into audits, with long-term impacts on today’s third-party welfare systems.
The episode also looks ahead, with Jim highlighting the need for AI, video, and biometric monitoring to close the gap between annual inspections and real-time welfare risks especially during weather extremes.
Whether you’re in animal health, ag-tech, or auditing, this episode offers critical insights into the roots of food animal welfare monitoring and what’s next.
Topics covered include:
The surprising role of the National Pork Board in welfare audit development
Why early audits lacked science but sparked major shifts in practice
How shade, shelter, and calf housing became welfare flashpoints
Friction and collaboration in defining welfare metrics pre-2010
The rise of Validus and the evolution into industry-wide programs
Why real-time data from AI tools is the future of meaningful audits
What Jim wishes he could go back and change in early programs
To learn more or share feedback, reach out at info@agrigates.io.
You can listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 24: The History of Contemporary Welfare – 30 Years of Change

Episode 24: The History of Contemporary Welfare – 30 Years of ChangeLiveStack Podcast with Daniel Foy and Dr. Jim Reynolds
Over the past three decades, food animal welfare has undergone a profound transformation. In this episode, Daniel Foy and Dr. Jim Reynolds trace the arc of this shift, beginning with the industry’s earliest confrontations with welfare, from undercover videos in U.S. slaughterhouses in the late 1980s, to pivotal moments like McDonald's engagement with Temple Grandin, to the global emergence of welfare science as a formal discipline.
Listeners will hear about the pivotal role of early academic figures like David Fraser and Dan Weary, the rise of university-based research groups, and how targeted legislation in places like California challenged entrenched practices such as tail docking and dragging downer cows. Jim and Daniel explore how these ethical pressures evolved into measurable welfare outcomes, backed by peer-reviewed science.
This episode also delves into the role of agri-tech, sensor data, and precision livestock tools in building a future where welfare is no longer subjective. As welfare metrics have become more rigorous, the industry now faces the challenge of integrating accurate digital systems to meet both farm-level realities and growing consumer expectations.
Whether you're new to welfare science or have followed its evolution, this episode connects the past to the present, and outlines the next chapter for how technology, ethics, and data science will shape the way we care for livestock.
Topics covered include:
The 1989 slaughterhouse footage that catalyzed U.S. welfare reform
Temple Grandin’s early audits and influence on corporate practices
Tail docking, downer cow legislation, and early welfare policy wins
Emergence of leading research centers (UBC, UPenn, WAFL)
The scientific shift from anecdote to measurable welfare indicators
Current challenges with wearables, black-box algorithms, and scaling behavioral measurements
How precision welfare data will define the future of food animal management
To learn more or share feedback, reach out at info@agrigates.io
You can listen on Apple Podcast | Spotify

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 23:An Introduction to Food Animal Welfare - A new Podcast Format

In this new format for the LiveStack Podcast, co-hosts Daniel Foy (Co-Founder & CEO of AgriGates) and Dr. Jim Reynolds (Veterinarian and Professor Emeritus in Livestock Welfare) kick off by introducing themselves and laying the foundation for a thoughtful, ongoing discussion on food animal welfare and the transformative role of technology.
Jim shares his personal journey from practicing dairy and beef medicine in California to becoming a board-certified expert in animal welfare, emphasizing that good veterinary care is inseparable from understanding animals’ physical and mental well-being. Daniel reflects on how early work in food tech and livestock wearables sparked his interest in the power of behavioral metrics for deeper insight into welfare and individual animal care.
Together, they explore:
The evolution of animal welfare as a scientific and ethical discipline
Definitions of welfare, including the shift from avoiding harm (Five Freedoms) to promoting positive states (Five Domains)
How sensor systems and AI can improve the consistency and objectivity of welfare assessments on farms
Why consumer demand and ethical expectations are shaping the future of livestock production
The challenges of translating human observation into digital systems that are scalable, reliable, and actionable
Opportunities for producers to adopt tech-enabled welfare systems as a pathway to healthier animals, better sustainability, and greater market trust
The episode sets the tone for future conversations on welfare metrics, behavioral modeling, sensor standardization, and how the agri-tech ecosystem can align with the growing demand for transparency and ethical assurance in food systems.
🔊 Tune in to hear how “happy animals” could be the key to a healthier food system, better farm management, and stronger consumer confidence.
Listeners are encouraged to send questions or topic suggestions to info@agrigates.io for future episodes.

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 22: Finding values with AI technology for welfare and production

In this episode, Daniel Foy and Jim Reynolds sit down with Matt Dobbs, CEO of AgSense, to explore the intersection of animal welfare, production efficiency, and agricultural technology. Matt, a veterinary surgeon and lawyer by training, shares his journey from clinical practice to leading AgSense, a UK-based AgriTech company focused on enhancing dairy cow welfare and sustainability. 
The discussion begins with Matt’s background in veterinary care and his transition from treating individual animals to herd-level welfare strategies. He emphasizes how proactive health planning, rather than reactive treatments, has been a guiding principle in his career. The conversation then delves into how AgSense’s technology.  
Jim and Daniel highlight the importance of moving beyond traditional metrics and incorporating the Five Domains Model, which evaluates an animal’s physical and emotional well-being. They discuss the need for standardized data collection, AI-driven insights, and cost-effective sensor technology to scale welfare monitoring across diverse farming systems. 
Matt also addresses broader industry challenges, including labor shortages, farm consolidation, and the ethical responsibility of improving animal welfare while maintaining productivity. The conversation underscores how technology, when combined with strong ethical values, can drive sustainable improvements in livestock management. Matt shares AgSense’s global expansion, upcoming innovations in AI and environmental monitoring, and the importance of industry-wide collaboration.  
Bio: Matthew Dobbs BVM&S, Cert CHP, DipLaw, ARAgS, MRCVS 
A vet and lawyer, Matt has spent time in academia (University of Sydney and Royal Veterinary College) before founding Westpoint Veterinary Group. He is a Nuffield Scholar, recipient of the Bullock Award and the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in Agriculture, and an Associate of the Royal Agricultural Societies. 
Matt is the founder & CEO of vision-based livestock monitoring AgTech business AgSense, chair of the MWI Clinical Advisory Board, and the Digital Practice Lead for Stonehaven Consultancy. He also founded and chairs multiple digital businesses, including FarmLaw.co.uk, HeckinGood, VetYou, and Animal Health Angels. 

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 21: Exploring Agritech, Data Standards, and Improved Animal Welfare

Welcome to Episode 21 of the LiveStack Podcast! In this episode, we dive into insights from three pivotal conferences held in Italy this summer: the Welfare Assessment of Animals at the Farm Level (WAFL), the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP), and the EU Precision Livestock Farming (EU-PLF) conference. The discussion centers around advancements in agritech, the development of data standards, and how these innovations are driving improvements in food animal welfare.
Joining Daniel Foy, Co-Founder and CEO of AgriGates, are three incredible guests with diverse backgrounds and expertise in animal welfare and precision livestock farming (PLF):
Sky (Kehan) Sheng: A PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Program, Sky’s research intersects animal welfare science and data science within PLF. Her work focuses on advancing automated methods for dairy cow behavior assessment, developing systems for lameness detection, and establishing behavioral baselines using sensor data to enhance animal care and monitoring.
Adrien Lebreton: Adrien’s passion for livestock farming stems from his upbringing in Normandy, France. With a background as an agricultural engineer specializing in Animal Science, Adrien has explored cutting-edge technologies such as 3D imaging for phenotyping and AI models for grazing traceability. Now at the French Livestock Institute (Idele), he continues to push the boundaries of PLF for outdoor ruminants, integrating technologies like GNSS collars, virtual fencing, and drones.
Michael Odintsov Vaintrub: Michael combines his veterinary training and expertise in preventive medicine with a passion for integrating PLF technologies into small-scale and extensive farming systems. As co-founder of the start-up Regrowth, he develops modular PLF systems tailored for farms in marginal areas. Michael’s interdisciplinary approach spans animal health, welfare, soil science, and agroecology, which he implements at “The Green Pearl,” his agroecological demo farm in Teramo, Italy.
This episode is packed with thoughtful discussion on how cutting-edge research and technology are shaping the future of animal welfare and sustainable farming practices.
Stay informed and inspired—tune in to Episode 21 of the LiveStack Podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 20: Safeguarding the Farm - Essential Cybersecurity for Agriculture with Dr. Lucas Alcantara

Welcome to Episode 20 of the LiveStack Podcast!
As we wrap up Cybersecurity Month, we’re bringing you key insights and actionable tips to strengthen your digital defenses on the farm. This month, Daniel is joined by Dr. Lucas Alcantara, an expert in agricultural data management and security. Lucas holds a Ph.D. in Animal Breeding and Genetics and serves as Research Centre Data Manager at the University of Guelph's, where he leads data architecture initiatives under the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance. With years of experience in designing secure, data-driven systems, Dr. Alcantara specializes in streamlining research data integration, deploying customized systems, and building secure applications for research data access.
In this episode, we’ll cover:
Basic steps farmers can take to protect their operations from cyber threats.
How the 80/20 Rule applies to cybersecurity efforts.
A real-life phishing scenario relevant to agricultural settings.
Practical response strategies for handling cybersecurity incidents.
Key tips for data managers in agriculture to ensure ongoing data security.
Stay informed and prepared by tuning in to this essential episode on the LiveStack Podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 19: The Three Seasons of Agriculture Data: Shall We Talk About the Fourth One, The Value of Data?

Welcome to Episode 19 of the LiveStack Podcast! In this episode, we dive into the intriguing world of agricultural data with a discussion titled “The Three Seasons of Agriculture Data: Shall We Talk About the Fourth One? The Value of Data.” Joining us are three exceptional doctoral candidates from the EnTrust Doctoral Network, who bring fresh perspectives on the value of data in agriculture. These guests participated in the Innovation Value Institute (IVI) Summit at Maynooth University in June 2024.
Our guests today include:
Erica Tegolo, currently pursuing her Ph.D. at the School of Business, National University of Ireland Maynooth (NUIM). Erica’s research focuses on developing fair data exploitation principles and frameworks, as part of the EnTrust Doctoral Network. Her host organization is Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Authority of Ireland, where she is based in the Rural Economy and Development Program (REDP).
Leidiane da Silva, who holds a B.Sc. in business administration from the Universidade Paulista, Brazil, and an M.Sc. in business analytics from NUIM. Leidiane is part of the EnTrust Ph.D. program and works at Airfield Estate’s education and research office. Her research interests include data quality, trustworthiness, machine learning techniques, and agri-data.
Fjolla Berisha, who completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Computer Engineering at the University of Prishtina and worked as a teaching assistant in computer science. She’s currently pursuing her Ph.D. at NUIM, focusing on digital data ownership and is the author of a scientific paper on neural network algorithms in recommender systems.
Together, we explore how their research and experiences intersect with the evolving landscape of agricultural data, the challenges surrounding its ownership, and the value that can be unlocked through innovation in this space.
Tune in to discover how these data experts are shaping the future of agricultural data—and what the mysterious “fourth season” might hold!
Don’t miss out on this insightful discussion! Tune in online or subscribe to the LiveStack Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 18: An Introduction to AgNotate by AgriGates

Welcome to Episode 18 of the LiveStack Podcast! In this special episode, we’re thrilled to introduce AgNotate, our cutting-edge machine-learning software designed to revolutionize the way researchers and companies annotate animal behavior, events, and welfare indicators. 
AgNotate streamlines the data annotation process, saving valuable time while enhancing the welfare and health of food animals in complex agricultural settings. This innovative tool is a game-changer for the industry, and we're excited to dive into its development and potential impact. 
Joining us in this episode are key members of the AgriGates engineering team who were instrumental in bringing AgNotate to life: 
Forest Valentine – System Integration Engineer 
Matthew Brause – Mathematician, ML, and Backend Engineer 
Eric Sobczak – Embedded Systems Engineer 
They are accompanied by Daniel Foy, Co-Founder and CEO of AgriGates, to discuss the challenges, innovations, and future impact of AgNotate on food animal agriculture. 
If you're eager to learn more about AgNotate, please visit the contact section of the AgriGates website or email us at info@agrigates.io. We’ll be sharing updates on when and how you can access AgNotate once it launches to the general public in September. 
Don’t miss out on this insightful discussion! Tune in online or subscribe to the LiveStack Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

The LiveStack Podcast/ Episode 17: Mapping AgriTech Software and Hardware in Food Animal Agriculture.

Welcome to Episode 17 of the LiveStack podcast.  
Alana Lee joins Daniel (Co-founder and CEO of AgriGates) in this month's episode. Alana is a student at Texas A&M University, where she is completing her bachelor's degree in animal science. With a background in beef production, Alana discovered her passion for dairy cattle as a freshman at TAMU. During her time as an undergraduate, she has participated in numerous research opportunities, including projects related to Mastitis treatment, nutrition trials, and, of course, her research internship with AgriGates on Mapping AgriTech Software and Hardware in Food Animal Agriculture.
During her time at AgriGates, Alana has deeply expanded her knowledge and experience of precision technology by researching the global landscape of AgriTech products and understanding the value of technology within agriculture. To cap off her internship project and use collected data, Alana developed and presented a poster at the High Plains Dairy 2024 conference in Texas that is discussed in this month's podcast.
You can also find out more about the High Plains Dairy Conference poster here
Upon graduation in May 2024, Alana will enter her master’s program at Penn State University under Dr. Melissa Cantor to continue researching Precision Dairy Technology. She hopes to pursue a career in research and development of AgriTech products.
Tune in on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for an insightful discussion on the future of AgriTech in food animal agriculture.
 

The LiveStack Podcast / Episode 16 - The Kipster Journey: Welfare and AgriTech in Poultry Farming

Welcome to Episode 16 of the Livestock podcast, where in this episode, we explore “The Kipster Journey: Welfare and AgriTech in Poultry Farming."
Our guest joining us for this episode is Ruud Zanders, the founding partner at Kiptster. Kipster is a Revolutionary Vision for Modern Farming. Building the most animal-friendly and environmentally-friendly poultry farm in the world.  This is an important issue people face, in how we will feed the growing world’s population in a fair way—without overexploiting nature and excluding people. 
He is joined by Dr. Jim Reynolds, an AgriGates team member and Professor of large animal medicine and Welfare at Western University, College of Veterinary Medicine in Pomona, California, and Daniel Foy, Co-Founder and CEO of AgriGates.
Don't miss out on this discussion! You can now tune in online or subscribe to the LiveStack podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.