A Lincoln-based startup is turning an idea inspired by COVID-19 wastewater research into a growing agricultural technology business, working with some of the nation’s largest pork producers to address a billion-dollar industry challenge.
DARO, a pathogen surveillance company founded in 2023, is developing technology to detect swine diseases earlier, giving producers more time to respond before outbreaks spread.
Josh DeMers, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of DARO, recently joined the Building Nebraska podcast to discuss the company’s entrepreneurial journey, the technology behind its growth and what it takes to build an agricultural startup in today’s business environment.
According to research from Iowa State University cited by DeMers, Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) costs the U.S. swine industry an estimated $1.2 billion annually.
Traditional disease surveillance methods typically involve collecting oral fluid or blood samples from animals and sending them to diagnostic laboratories. However, those methods can sometimes miss disease in its earliest stages, allowing infections to spread between facilities before producers can respond.
DARO has developed a proprietary environmental sampling method paired with a sensitive laboratory testing process designed to identify pathogens sooner.
In a study with Pillen Family Farms, DARO detected disease approximately 3.91 days earlier than oral fluid surveillance. A separate study with Pipestone Research found the company’s technology identified disease two days earlier than oral fluid testing and one day earlier than serum testing.
“Being able to beat them even by a day or two, that can be the difference of sending sick pigs out to multiple different sites or containing disease just in that one site,” DeMers said.
DARO’s entrepreneurial journey began with an idea inspired by wastewater surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company’s founder, who previously worked on wastewater surveillance at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, recognized the potential of using environmental samples to detect disease earlier than conventional testing methods.
That experience sparked the idea of bringing similar technology into livestock production, with the swine industry becoming the company’s first focus.
However, developing the technology was only one part of building the business.
The startup needed to understand producers’ challenges, establish reliable sampling methods and demonstrate that its technology could provide meaningful advantages over existing surveillance practices.
DARO participated in The Combine, an agricultural technology startup accelerator based at Nebraska Innovation Campus. Through the program, the company’s leadership connected with producers, veterinarians and industry professionals to better understand disease detection challenges inside swine facilities.
DeMers, who previously served as director of The Combine, witnessed the company’s early development before transitioning into his current role as chief operating officer.
The startup’s early efforts involved visiting barns, gathering feedback from potential customers, developing collection methods and validating its laboratory testing process.
Those steps helped move DARO from an initial concept to a commercial operation conducting routine testing for pork producers.
With its technology validated through research and commercial testing, DARO is now focused on expanding its operations.
The company has completed its second round of fundraising and is currently working with six of the top 25 pork producers in the United States.
That growth has created new opportunities and challenges as DARO works to increase laboratory capacity, establish additional industry partnerships and expand the number of facilities it serves.
“Our main goal for, you know, what we’re going to use this capital for and where our mission is today is to really scale the product to hopefully drive PRRS elimination or disease elimination throughout the swine industry,” DeMers said.
For DeMers, the experience of transitioning from helping startups through The Combine to leading operations within a growing company has provided a perspective on the realities of entrepreneurship.
He acknowledged that securing venture capital for agricultural technology companies has become more challenging as some investors have moved away from the sector.
Despite those challenges, DeMers believes opportunities remain for startups that can demonstrate the effectiveness of their products and build strong relationships with customers.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve seen is when you have an exciting technology and it really works and you’re pushing it with the customers in terms of getting positive feedback that they want to continue to use your product, things are going to go extremely well for these different types of ag tech companies,” DeMers said.
DARO’s experience highlights the importance of customer feedback throughout the startup process. By working directly with producers and veterinarians, the company has been able to develop its technology around practical challenges facing the industry.
Looking ahead, DARO hopes to expand its surveillance technology across more swine production facilities nationwide. The company’s long-term goal is to help producers identify diseases as they enter an operation, potentially reducing outbreaks and working toward disease elimination.
From its beginnings as a research-driven concept to securing investment and working with major pork producers, DARO’s growth reflects the opportunities for entrepreneurs developing solutions to agricultural challenges.
For DeMers, building a business in Nebraska while working alongside Midwest farmers and livestock producers remains one of the most rewarding aspects of the company’s journey.
Hear the full conversation with Josh DeMers on the Building Nebraska podcast, powered by the Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in partnership with the Rural Radio Network.