Offaly company wins big at Innovation Arena at Ploughing
Offaly-based Agri Data Analytics was named as the winner of the AgTechUCD Start Up Award at Innovation Arena competition, hosted by Enterprise Ireland at the National Ploughing Championships.
The Innovation Arena winners were announced at an awards ceremony attended by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney at the opening day of the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co Laois, on Tuesday.
Agri Data Analytics, founded by Daingean duo Jack Pilkington and Joseph Alan O'Donovan, is focused on developing devices for reducing methane emissions.
By winning this award for its entry, The Bovine Breathalyser, the company has secured a place on AgTechUCD’s third dedicated 12-week accelerator programme for AgTech and Agri-food start-ups with global potential, which commences next month.
The non-invasive machine measures enteric methane emissions from ruminants, identifying high emitters within herds and those producing large amounts of beef/dairy while minimising methane output.
Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena is an annual must-see exhibition platform, and the competition recognises innovative and cutting-edge products and services from agritech entrepreneurs who are delivering forward-thinking solutions to address some of the toughest global challenges.
The awards ceremony which was also attended by Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland, and Anna May McHugh, Managing Director, National Ploughing Association, saw GrassMax win the overall award in this year’s competition, the prize for Established Innovator of the Year., with its world’s first temperate climate grassland management tool.
Proveye won the best overall start-up award, Start-Up Innovator of the Year, and a €10,000 prize for its AI-powered digital image analysis platform. Its innovation uses remote sensing capability to deliver image-based insights on agricultural land, giving users the ability to make timely and informed decisions to solve a range of challenges, such as maximising yield and crop management planning.methane output.
The Innovation Arena will showcase ground-breaking agri-related products and innovations from 50 Irish agri-companies over the course of the National Ploughing Championships, including the finalists of this year’s competition and previous winners from the Innovation Arena Awards.
Companies will also have the opportunity to showcase their products to an international audience, as this year over 40 international buyers from 10 countries will visit the Innovation Arena and Irish companies supported by Enterprise Ireland who are exhibiting at the event.