Albion family’s innovation for milking cows named finalist in Grow-NY competition

Provided photo: Jody Neal and his sons Zachary, left, and Jayden, formed Udder Ways LLC and are finalists in a $3 million Grow-NY competition.

ALBION – An invention by an Albion dairy farmer and his two sons is among 20 finalists in food and agriculture startups from around the world.

UdderWays LLC in Albion is competing with 19 others to win a combined total of $3 million in prize money in Grow-NY, a business competition focused on enhancing the emerging food, beverage and agriculture innovation cluster in upstate New York.

There were 312 startups that applied from 26 states, and 50 countries. There were 89 entries from New York.

Jody Neal and his sons Zachary and Jayden have formed UdderWays. They finished second in January in an agricultural innovation challenge at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Neals developed a new system to sanitize and prepare udders for milking. The Neals have already won a $20,000 prize for second place in the American Farm Bureau competition.

Jody Neal is a partner a Poverty Hill Farms in Albion, a dairy farm on West County House Road. His sons were active in the Orleans County 4-H Robotics program, where they learned programming and tech skills as part of a team that competed in the Rochester region.

The Neals worked on their udder cleaning system for nearly a decade. The device is used just before a cow is milked. Their invention uses a unique, brushless technology to gently stimulate cows and ensure clean and dry teats, the family states on their website.

Empire State Development and Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement announced the 20 finalists year six of Grow-NY. Winning companies will be required to make a positive economic impact in the Grow-NY region, which comprises 22 counties located in Central NY, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier regions.

A Genesee County-based company also is among the finalists. Zordi in Oakfield builds autonomous greenhouses with robots and AI to make high-quality produce.

State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball, said, “From farming to food production, New York is an innovative, world-class leader in agriculture. Year after year, the Grow-NY competition is instrumental to bringing new, high-growth businesses in the industry focused on critical areas to our state. This event has once again brought to light just how critical agriculture is to our communities and to our economy, and I congratulate these finalists on their innovation that will help bolster our food systems, feed our communities, and move our state forward.”

A panel of 30 judges with knowledge of the region’s agriculture and food production communities, and entrepreneurial experience, reviewed all the applications to determine the top 20 finalists that will pitch their business plans at the Grow-NY Food and Ag Summit in Ithaca in November.

Grow-NY will award a total of $3 million in prize money to seven winners. This includes a $1 million top prize, two $500,000 awards, and four $250,000 prizes.

To see the other finalists for Grow-NY, click here.