CleverCow, the innovative start-up on a mission to significantly reduce the methane emissions from cows, has finished its equity crowdfunding campaign, raising $114,975 from 84 investors.
Money raised from the Birchal equity crowdfunding will subsidise marketing to expand CleverCow’s reach and grow the footprint of sustainable farming in Australia by providing essential resources and technology to make sustainable farming methods easier and more viable for farmers.
CleverCow offers a carbon-offsetting subscription service that incentivises Australian cattle farmers to adopt its innovation. The start-up’s world-first drip technology, developed in Australia, that feeds an additive into cattle water supply, which can reduce methane from cow burps by up to 50 per cent and at no cost.
Mark Peart, founder and CEO of DIT AgTech, the company behind CleverCow, explained the significance of methane reduction, saying, “Methane is a very potent gas, but it only sits in the atmosphere for around a decade, whereas carbon dioxide lasts for centuries. Reducing methane emissions can have a much more immediate impact in slowing global warming.”
CleverCow’s model ensures that the funds from subscriptions go directly to farmers implementing these critical sustainable practices while providing financial benefits in return.
“If you had 1,000 head of cattle, you could make up to $100,000 a year selling your carbon credits to CleverCow,” Pearl expounded. “This initiative not only increases profits for farmers, but also creates a commercially viable ecosystem for the rapid adoption of new technologies.”
A recent Deloitte study predicts that the market for consumer purchases of carbon offsets will reach US$100 billion in developed economies by 2030, something that CleverCow seeks to address.
Peart added, “Through our work, we have seen time and time again that a big barrier to adoption is cost – the cost and labour of implementing new technologies and sustainable solutions keeps falling squarely on the shoulders of our farmers. CleverCow increases profit for farmers and creates a commercially viable ecosystem to speed up adoption.”
