Picket Line is free. It stays free. This page is for people who find it useful and want to help keep it running.
Who is behind it
Picket Line is a private enterprise, not a government program. It is built and run by 4DAT LLC, a small privately owned company in Panama City, Florida, that receives no government funding. The person who built it is a Texan who grew up around farms, cattle and horses and watched screwworm come back toward the border. The apps, the website, the cloud service, the trap nodes and the photo library were all built and paid for privately.
What support pays for
Hosting and the map and API service that your reports and the trap nodes post to.
Trap-node hardware for the picket line along the border and in affected counties.
Keeping the official links, phone numbers and identification guidance current, and the Spanish translation.
Building the community groups feature so ranchers, producers and veterinarians can pool what they see in their own area.
What support does not buy
Nothing in the apps is locked, so a contribution unlocks nothing. It does not buy priority, influence over the data, or any standing with any agency. We cannot make the government take a report seriously, or at all; only your own official report does that. Contributions are voluntary, go to a for-profit company, are not charitable donations, are not tax deductible, and are not refundable. See the terms of service.
How to help
Money. Email hello@ai4dat.com and we will send you a way to contribute. Producers, cooperatives, practices and associations who want to sponsor nodes for their county can ask about that too.
Reports. The most valuable thing you can do is report what you see, both to officials and, with your consent, into Picket Line.
Photos. Donated photos under the open licence train better identification. The switch is in the app, off by default.
Word of mouth. Tell the ranch down the road, your vet, your 4-H leader and your county agent.
Where the money goes
We will post a plain-language summary of what was contributed and what it was spent on here, at least twice a year.