Agritech firm Herdwatch from County Tipperary claims victory in Enterprise Ireland's Innovation Arena Competition
At this year's Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena Awards, the spotlight was on cutting-edge solutions designed to revolutionise the agricultural sector. Among the showcased innovations were AI tools for farm decision-making, solar-powered feeding machines, and low-emission manure management systems.
One of the standout winners was Herdwatch, an agritech company based in Roscrea, Tipperary. They took home the Innovation Champion award for their AI herd management tool, Herdi or Herd Intelligence.
Herd Intelligence is an AI assistant designed to support livestock producers with everyday farm management tasks and decisions. According to James Greevy, the Head of Innovation at Herdwatch, their mission is to help farmers move from pen and paper to digital systems.
The Herdi tool aims to help farmers make faster and informed decisions by interpreting a wide range of data, such as vaccination records, grazing plans, weather forecasts, and regulatory guidelines. As farmers adopt more technology, they face the challenge of managing the resulting data pile-up, and Herdi aims to simplify this process.
Greevy added that the goal is to help farmers navigate sustainability challenges from both a financial and environmental perspective.
In a different category, ScanInsights, a Cork-based company, won the 'Start-Up Innovator of the Year Award' and a €10,000 prize for their AI technology that provides real-time information on bovine scanning. The ScanInsights App makes bovine scanning more accurate and efficient, and is built on a database of 2.5 million scans from dairy and beef markets.
The app provides a real-time estimate to the operator while the scanning process is ongoing. ScanInsights' founder or leadership member is not explicitly named in the available search results. However, ScanInsights is described as an Irish company focused on improving bovine scanning accuracy and efficiency.
In the 'Green Impact Award' category, GlasPort Bio, a Galway company, was recognised for their invention GasAbate, a manure management system that reduces emissions and agitation time for farmers. GlasPort Bio is on track to deliver projects that will remove 12,000 tonnes of carbon from EU food production on an annual basis.
Independent trials have shown that GasAbate reduces methane emissions by 80%, hydrogen sulphide by 80%, and ammonia by 50%. GlasPort Bio, though not explicitly named, is described as an Irish company focused on methane reduction in livestock farming that raised €10 million in early 2025.
Nine companies participated in this year's final, with three delivering live pitches in different categories. The event, with a focus on AI-driven technologies and sustainable innovations, is an annual celebration of Ireland's thriving tech sector.
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