AAT and Vital Farms work together to Advance Animal Welfare
AAT and Vital Farms work together to Advance Animal Welfare: Cheggy Technology sets a New Standard for Egg Production in the U.S.
Austin (Texas)/Visbek, 3rd Dec 2025. Starting in early 2026, Vital Farms (Nasdaq: VITL), the leading U.S. producer of pasture-raised eggs, in collaboration with their primary hatchery supplier, Hy-Line North America, will adopt the innovative in-ovo sexing technology “Cheggy” developed by the German company Agri Advanced Technologies GmbH (AAT). With this move, the publicly traded company joins a growing group of international egg producers utilizing AAT’s Cheggy technology to implement a more humane and sustainable alternative to male chick culling.
In-Ovo Sexing Technology “Cheggy” used for the first time in Brazil
Organic Egg Producer Adopts German Technology for In-Ovo Sex Determination – A First for the Southern Hemisphere
São Paulo, Brazil, July 28, 2025 – A major step forward for animal welfare in the egg industry: for the first time in Brazil, the Cheggy machine has been installed and is operating successfully, identifying the sex of chicks while still in the egg. This breakthrough provides a new way to manage male chicks that are not used in egg production. With its first application in Latin America, the innovative in-ovo sexing technology from German company Agri Advanced Technologies GmbH (AAT) – a subsidiary of the EW GROUP – has reached another international milestone.
Revolutionary, Non-Invasive In-Ovo Sexing Technology Makes History as First in United States
Technology introduced to determine the sex of a chick in brown layer hatching eggs before hatching, a significant technological development for the U.S. egg industry
WILTON, IA, December 10, 2024 – In a groundbreaking development for the United States egg industry, an Iowa hatchery has become the first site to offer an automated in-ovo sex determining solution in the nation. An identical machine is also operational at a hatchery in Texas. Chicks from the hatchery are expected to go to their first customer – NestFresh Eggs – by December 13, 2024, putting eggs sourced from in-ovo sexed hens into the marketplace by June 2, 2025.
Highest DLG awards for AAT
"Vaccybot" vaccination robot and "eggytizer" disinfection technology win gold and silver awards
Visbek, September 24, 2024. The technology company Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT) was honoured by the German Agricultural Society (DLG) with two awards for its innovations. Both technological innovations are a milestone for better animal health in poultry production.
Cheggy’s U.S. launch marks a new era in hatchery innovation
Visbek (Germany), August 22nd, 2024. Agri Advanced Technologies (AAT), a leader in poultry breeding technologies, and part of the EW Group, is excited to introduce its Cheggy technology to the U.S. market. As the first advanced non-invasive in-ovo sex determination system available at the end of this year in America, Cheggy sets a new benchmark for speed, efficiency, and sustainability in animal welfare, providing a transformative solution for the poultry industry
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In ovo sex determination - chances and challenges
Visbek, February 10, 2023. You are interested in sex determination in the egg and want to know more about its chances and challenges?