The Dairymaster Rural Innovation Awards will be a tightly fought affair this year.

Run in conjunction with Teagasc, DARDNI, and the Irish Farmers Journal, the final judging and awards night will be held in Tralee on 26 May. If you want to meet the people making innovations in rural Ireland, why not come to the event?

Tickets can be purchased for €55 (including dinner and awards night) by calling 1890 500 247 or book online at www.ruralinnovation.ie.

Caherconnell Fort & Sheepdog Demonstrations

Caherconnell, Carron, Co Clare

john@caherconnell.com

Tel : 065-7089999

www.caherconnell.com

John Davoren has developed Caherconnell Fort on land his family have farmed in the heart of the Burren for generations, adding sheepdog demonstrations to develop it into a popular tourism destination.

At the 1,000-year-old fort, a visitor centre with accompanying craft and coffee shops was developed. The fort was also the catalyst for the development of an International Archaeological and Geological Field School, which is accredited by the National University of Ireland Galway.

The work the students do on the archaeological digs helps develop an understanding of how people lived and used the site at Caherconnell.

The development of sheepdog demonstrations has seen a new generation of handlers learn the skills required to train and work the sheepdog. There is a tremendous cultural benefit to the region though the preservation of these age-old skills.

Specially designed viewing areas have been provided for visitors to see the sheepdog demonstrations. An award of excellence from CIE Tours International has recently been received.

“We believe innovation is a prerequisite for diversification, and we have been successfully diversifying our product since our doors first opened in 2003,” said John.

“The diversity of the business at Caherconnell is simultaneously our greatest strength and our greatest challenge. Target markets for the various revenue streams are quite varied, making the targeting of resources for marketing a very real and significant challenge,” he added.

Fresh Extend

Brian Hampton, 135 Red Lion Road, Kilmore, Co Armagh

Tel: 028-38851072

hamptonfruit@aol.com

www.freshextend.co.uk

Brian Hampton is an apple grower in Armagh, Ireland’s orchard. He farms 30 acres – this is less than most growers, who average 40 to 50 acres. However, the biggest challenge is not growing apples, but marketing at the right time to get the highest price.

Brian has being using cold storage for more than 30 years but over the past six years he has become more focused on monitoring ethylene levels in his stores.

Ethylene is the natural ripening gas fruit and vegetables give off, shortening the storage potential. He knew that removing the gas would benefit growers and wholesale companies. He tested different regimes, and has put all this experience into a system called Fresh Extend.

“It will give local producers a marketing pitch and help them compete against imported produce that is harvested immature, then treated with chemicals to endure a long voyage,” said Brian. “If we could take an extra 5% of market share it would provide a lot of extra revenue,” he added.

The system does not involve treating produce with chemicals, only filtering the air in the room. Because of this, it is approved by organic bodies.

“The system removes 95%of airborne bacteria and fungi on the goods in cold storage. Growers can keep their goods for a longer period of time so they are able to plan their market better.”

The machines cost on average £1,500 (€2,085), but Brian can design them for any size cold store, with the smallest machine costing £500 (€695).

As well as the UK market, Brian has sold machines to France, has interest from New Zealand and South Africa, and is planning to work with a local university to make improvements.

Farmflo

Jason and Gareth Devanney, Co-Lab, LYIT, Port Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Tel: 074-9116608

jdevenney@farmflo.com>

www.farmflo.com

Farmflo is a farmer-friendly system designed to improve the speed and accuracy of keeping farm records as you work for compliance reporting and traceability.

“The idea originated out of the frustrations we faced on our own farm while we were trying to find paper-based recorded information we needed for a farm inspection,” said Jason Devanney, who has developed it with his brother Gareth. “We had looked at existing farm systems and they were either too expensive or too complicated, so we decided to create our own.”

Farmflo is designed to keep an overview of the entire farm records from fields, locations, inventory, herd, crops, grass management and treatments. The data can be collected using a smartphone and Farmflo app designed to work offline.

“Everyone working on the farm can record the information which is stored in a central location that a farmer can quickly access as needed for his compliance reporting,” Jason said.

The Farmflo platform is configured to work as a hub for information which can be passed from the Department of Agriculture’s animal database and approved chemical list.

Farmers can ensure records are kept up to date for compliance inspections, securing the Basic Payment Scheme.

“By sharing their information, other organisations also benefit, such as farm advisers, co-ops, processors and financial advisers. Improved information will allow them to provide better advice when supporting farmers in their business decisions,” said Jason.

“We are working on integration of all areas of the farm,” he said. “For example, a farmer can walk into a co-op to buy his animal medicine, the information is sent electronically to Farmflo inventory, which records the treatment while sharing the purchase invoice with the accounting app, giving real-time access to the farmer’s accountant.”

Some 750 farmers are using the system in Ireland, the UK and Eastern Europe.

“We are close to closing a deal to more than double this number and are also looking at a potential distribution deal in South Africa,” Jason said.

Herdwatch

Derryvale, Dublin Road, Roscrea, Co Tipperary

Tel: 0505-31580

fabien@herdwatch.ie

www.herdwatch.ie

Herdwatch is an easy-to-use mobile phone app which enables dairy and beef farmers to save hours per week on paperwork and stay compliant with animal welfare and traceability regulations.

The company was co-founded by FRS Network and Fabien Peyaud, and launched in February 2014 following two years of research and development

“Less than 10% of cattle farmers use a digital herd management system. Our research shows that the main reasons why farmers are not using traditional PC-based software are a lack of mobility, usage complexity and high costs,” said Fabien.

Herdwatch is approved by the Department of Agriculture and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, and is compliant with Bord Bia’s quality scheme, helping farmers pass inspections.

It allows farmers to download their entire herd details to their smartphone or tablet directly from the Department’s systems.

Herdwatch enables farmers to spend as little time as possible on paperwork, so they can spend as much time as possible adding value to their end product. It makes it easy to stay compliant with calf registration, animal remedies and cattle movement regulations. The app can work without internet access. “By allowing farmers to record data on the go, there is a better chance the data is correct,” said Fabien.

Almost 1,000 farmers have signed up for the app on an annual subscription plan of €99 including VAT. Over time, new features will be added, such as a grassland management module that includes spray and fertiliser recording to be released at the ploughing. A UK and Northern Ireland version is in the final stages of development.