In-Ovo Sexing Quarterly Roundup: Q4 2024
Welcome to Innovate Animal Ag's Q4 2024 in-ovo sexing roundup, where we dive into the latest news for the technology and what it means for consumers and producers across the globe.
Business Roundup
Jasen Urena (left), Vice President of NestFresh Eggs and Jörg Hurlin (right), Managing Director of AAT are pictured with the first in-ovo sex determining machine, Cheggy, in the United States at an Iowa hatchery. Courtesy of streamcommunications.
The egg producer NestFresh celebrated the first-ever hatch of in-ovo sexed chicks on US soil, marking a historic milestone for the US egg industry. This groundbreaking development was made possible through NestFresh's partnership with Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT), whose Cheggy machine is now operational at Hy-Line hatcheries in Iowa and Texas. NestFresh announced plans to implement in-ovo sexing across their entire product line, with the first eggs scheduled to hit grocery store shelves by mid-2025. The table eggs will be accompanied by a third-party certification from Certified Humane, the first of its kind in the US. This certification will require participants to undergo annual reviews from Humane Farm Animal Care and maintain traceability from hatchery to store shelf. The launch event received significant trade and mainstream coverage, including an article in the Washington Post.
Respeggt also announced their entry into the US market this quarter through a partnership with Hendrix ISA. Respeggt’s in-ovo sexing Circuit will be installed at Hendrix's Nebraska hatchery in early 2025, with eggs expected to hit store shelves in late summer. Unlike AAT, which can only sex brown layers, Respeggt’s technology is capable of sexing both white and brown layers. With this announcement, any company in the US now has the capability to source eggs from in-ovo sexed hens, regardless of the color of the eggs, or their genetics supplier.
Respeggt also unveiled the latest version of their technology this quarter, the Respeggt CQ7000, which features integrated testing capabilities and optimized automation for improved workflow efficiency. Respeggt’s technology, which uses PCR to detect the presence of sex chromosomes, previously required operators to move allantoic fluid samples to a separate area for testing. With this new iteration, PCR analysis happens inline, for a more automated and streamlined process.
The Innovate Animal Ag team spent two weeks in northern Europe this quarter, visiting hatcheries to witness in-ovo sexing in action. Our recently published Travel Journal describes our three key takeaways from this visit, and digs into our future outlook for this remarkable technology. In Europe, the team also attended Eurotier 2024, one of the world's premier animal agriculture conferences. At the conference, our CEO Robert Yaman delivered a keynote presentation titled "Beyond Commodities: Innovating for Profit and Purpose in Animal Agriculture," highlighting how technologies like in-ovo sexing have a competitive advantage by targeting a problem that society deeply cares about. This thesis was bolstered in short order when Omegga, an emerging in-ovo sexing technology company, won the startup showcase at which the keynote presentation was delivered. Omegga made waves throughout the conference in preparation for their upcoming commercial launch, demonstrating their innovative approach and exhibiting with their large-scale pilot hatchery Gut Averfeld.
New Research
Innovate Animal Ag released a comprehensive report titled "The Hatchability Crisis". The report reveals that broiler hatchability has declined by 6 percentage points since 2012, representing a significant threat to the industry's efficiency and sustainability. The research explores various potential causes, from COVID-19 disruptions to genetic trade-offs, while also discussing promising technological solutions including advanced disinfection systems and innovative incubation equipment. In the future, in-ovo sexing may play a role in reversing this trend, through enabling the Hatchery of the Future model for broiler products.
For more detailed information on in-ovo sexing technologies and their impact on the poultry industry, visit our In-Ovo Sexing Overview. If you are planning on visiting IPPE 2025 in Atlanta, please reach out to schedule a meeting at contact@innovateanimalag.org.
