Kerry-based Brandon Bioscience is the overall award winner and EquiTrace from Co Kildare wins best startup.
A novel seaweed-based crop biostimulant and an app to help horse owners keep track of their stock were among the award winners of the most innovative Irish agritech and agri-engineering products announced recently by Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English.
This year’s overall Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards winner was marine biotech company Brandon Bioscience in Tralee, Co Kerry. In collaboration with the traditional fertiliser manufacturer Target Fertilisers, the company’s winning entry is an innovative new biostimulant product using extracts from common brown seaweed that has the potential to reduce chemical nitrogen input on farms by up to 20%.
App that works with a horse’s microchip
The best overall startup award went to Jennifer and Kevin Corley, founders of EquiTrace which is an app that works with a horse’s microchip to identify, locate and track individual animals as they move while also recording animal temperature and health records when used with a Merck Bio-Thermo chip and scanner.
For the second year in a row, the 2021 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards in association with the National Ploughing Association (NPA), took place online, with shortlisted innovators pitching their pioneering designs to a virtual judging panel over the course of two days.
Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena traditionally showcases ground-breaking agri-related products and innovations from Irish agri-companies at the National Ploughing Championships. This year’s competition was once again moved fully online due to the cancellation of the event as a result of the pandemic.
Winners of this year’s awards are automatically eligible to exhibit in the ‘2021 Winners Enclosure Section’ at the Innovation Arena in 2022.
More than 50 entries were received for this year’s Awards competition with 28 selected for virtual pitching.
Minister Damien English said: “The ingenuity and talent of Irish farm experts, entrepreneurs and businesses, is once again captured by this year’s Innovation Arena Award winners.
“In line with government policy on climate action, the positive impacts that Irish innovation can have on future global agriculture, particularly in relation to environmental, sustainability and digitalisation solutions, are inspiring.
"There are significant opportunities for our agricultural sector in overseas markets and the potential to drive economic growth. I would encourage farmers and companies to take advantage of Ireland’s reputation for agri-innovation and to explore opportunities to realise their global ambition in new markets.”
Leo Clancy, CEO, Enterprise Ireland said: “The strong themes emerging from this year’s Innovation Arena Award entries are a focus on farm efficiency and a concentration on how to protect our natural resources.
"Over the last few years, we’ve seen growing trends towards digitalisation of the sector, with increased capacity for capturing more data, interpreting it and using these insights for decision-making. The uptake of such technologies on the farm will have significant benefits generating efficiency and sustainability in food production.
“Despite a challenging 18 months, we are really encouraged by the quality of the entries and future possibilities for our Innovation Arena Award winners. Enterprise Ireland looks forward to working with them in finding opportunities for their innovative solutions in domestic and global markets.”
The overall and best startup award winners will receive €5,000 each.
There were 14 award category winners including:
- Overall Winner (Established company) and Sustainable Agriculture Award: Brandon BioScience, Kerry
- Overall Winner (Start-up company) and Vet Technology Award: EquiTrace, Kildare
- Agricultural Engingeering Award and ACE Agritech Centre of Excellence Award: Samco Agricultural, Limerick
- Agritech Start-up Award: ApisProtect, Cork
- Agritech Established Company Award: Alltech, Meath
- Agri-safety Award: Calving Assist, Tipperary
- One to Watch Award: SlurryQuip, Down
- Young Innovator of the Year: Carbon Harvesters, Dublin
- ifac Best Newcomer Award: Moonsyst International, Cork
- On Farm Innovation Award – Alfie Cox Founder’s Perpeptual Trophy: Crushmate, Laois
- AgTechUCD Startup Award: FodderBox Ltd, Cork
More details at www.innovationarena.ie