This new app is raising the steaks for online dating

Not long ago, I ventured into the growth of the online dating market, looking at where the Match Group is heading in terms of its popularity. So, when I learned about a different type of dating app, I couldn’t resist writing up an analysis of it. Tudder is a new app designed to help cows and bulls find each other for breeding. Like Tinder, farmers can swipe right on cows and bulls to find a breeding partner for its cattle. Amongst the uncertainty of Brexit and an agricultural industry that is shrinking, farmers are looking to technology to increase their productivity and lower their costs. Breeding can be an expensive process for farmers due to transportation costs, which can be sped up using Tudder.

The app includes data profiles from over 42,000 farms in the UK and has raised more than £3m in investments

It is simple; just like Tinder farmers swipe left or right to show interest in cows or bulls. The app has hit the farming market by a storm; the app includes data profiles from over 42,000 farms in the UK and has raised more than £3m in investments from farming organisations, government schemes and individual investors. The app even boasts tennis player Andy Murray as one of its investors.

Tudder was set up by UK farming start-up Hectare Agritech, which aims to eliminate wasted costs, time and produce for UK farmers to combat rising costs of production. Hectare Agritech also runs the online grain marketplace Graindex, designed to “reinvent farm trading”. Hectare links the Tudder app to its Sell My Livestock website and claims that one-third of farms already use it to trade its animals and transport them across the UK. The app puts farmers in touch with each other, allowing greater communication and connectivity between farmers, while sharing a few terrible puns along the way. The listing includes the animal’s health issues, size and character, as well as location and age.

Since the 1970s, the farming sector has gone from contributing 3% to national GDP to 0.5%. The agricultural sector in the UK is hanging by a thread and its only lifeline is the EU

For a sector that accounts for less than 1% of GDP per year and is heavily reliant on subsidies from the EU, it is unclear what the impact of Brexit will be, particularly as establishing replacement subsidies and trade agreements can take up to a decade. The reliability of subsidies from the EU has resulted in a stagnant market, with many farmers too heavily reliant on subsidies and new farmers unable to navigate the market. Heavy dependence on migrant labour from Eastern Europe will also mean that, in the wake of Brexit, the costs of labour will rise greatly, particularly if job quotas are not filled. Since the 1970s, the farming sector has gone from contributing 3% to the national GDP to 0.5%. The agricultural sector in the UK is hanging by a thread and its only lifeline is the EU. With Brexit, it is highly likely that the farming sector needs a rapid transformation and any means of efficiency is greatly needed. Apps such as Tudder greatly reduce costs for farmers, suggesting that innovation and technology may throw the farming industry a lifeline.

Decreasing costs for farmers through innovation and technology may save the agricultural industry from falling flat on its face after Brexit. Apps such as Tudder reduce business costs for farmers, and while they may seem to be a joke, the fact that over one-third of farmers use the app suggests that technology is useful in breeding animals with a compatible match. This trend shows no sign of slowing down, with the creators of Tudder hinting at new apps to match sheep flocks and other farm animals in the future.