2021 Agccelerator Startup Profiles

Accelerating the Development of the AgTech Innovation Ecosystem in Ireland and Beyond

Cotter Agritech

Cotter Agritech has developed the Cotter Crate, a novel sheep handling and monitoring system to transform how sheep farmers care for their animals. The Cotter Crate combines hardware, which addresses animal handling and labour issues, with novel software that addresses anthelmintic (or wormer) resistance. This enables farmers to move from treating all sheep to only drenching sheep that require treatment. The founders of Cotter Agritech, based in Limerick, are brothers Jack and Nick Cotter.

Cotter Agritech Logo

ProvEye

A spin-out from the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, ProvEye, provides advanced processing software to derive quantitative data from images, collected by drones and other platforms, at unprecedent levels of accuracy, which can be used to create actionable management decisions in agriculture, conservation and environmental monitoring. The founders of ProvEye, based in Dublin, are Dr Jerome O’Connell and Prof Nick Holden.

 

Izario

Izario has developed an autonomous poultry robot that operates in broiler-breeder and commercial egg-laying hen houses. Using custom built proprietary artificial intelligence and computer vision software the robot detects eggs laid on the floor by birds and retrieves them reducing labour inputs. The robot also monitors the birds’ welfare and environmental status of the sheds to allow farmers/producers to make informed decisions based on data.  The founders of Izario, based in Galway, are Raymond Heneghan and Stepan Dzhanov.

Izario Logo

Freshgraze

Freshgraze is an automated moving fence and pasture management system. Our device allocates precise portions of pasture to animals, ensuring the land has been efficiently utilised and the animal optimally fed. Grassland is one of the most difficult crops to manage Freshgraze’s robotic system automates the manual labour, while allowing for the pasture to be managed at a precise level to increase productivity and profitability. Freshgraze allows for more efficient use of our renewable feed resources, allowing for more sustainable and natural farming methods. The founders of FreshGraze, based in Co. Westmeath, are Thomas, Charlie and James Drumm.

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CropHound

CropHound uses remote sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor crop health, growing conditions and crop potential from planting to harvest giving early insights and recommendations to users. CropHound enables farmers and growers to increase yields and decrease their costs and carbon footprint through reductions in chemical usage and unnecessary trips to check crops.  The founder of CropHound, based in Belfast, is Mark Elliott.

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Niskus Biotec

Niskus Biotec is focused on the provision of innovative products and services to the agri-food and biotech sectors in fungal large-scale solid-state fermentation. The company works with customers to select the most suitable fungal strains for their process and growing media and to develop and scale-up new fungal derived high-value products such as proteins, enzymes and intermediates. The founder of Niskus Biotec, based in Donegal, is Vincent Farrelly.

Niskus Biotec

SmartBeeKeeper

SmartBeeKeeper is developing SmartBee a cutting-edge hardware and software platform to enable beekeepers monitor and track their beehives. SmartBeeKeeper also provides access to a luxury and traceable honey marketplace. The founder of SmartBeeKeeper, based in Tunisia, is Khaled Bouchoucha.

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Fodder Box

FodderBox Ltd., founded by CEO Ella Goddin, in Co Cork, has developed and built a fully-fitted, self-contained, computer-controlled fodder production system that arrives on-site, ready to plug-and-play. Sustainably producing a tonne of fresh premium fodder per day, in pure water, FodderBox - A Field in A Box, is the equivalent of a 40 acre field in a 40’ container—with zero water pollution, zero air pollution, zero herbicides, zero pesticides, and zero insecticides.

FodderBox Logo

Contact Us

Niamh Collins

Director, AgTechUCD Innovation Centre

e: niamh.collins1@ucd.ie
tw: @AgTechUCD
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Contact Us

Leo McGrane

Manager, AgTechUCD Innovation Centre

e: leo.mcgrane@ucd.ie
tw: @AgTechUCD
LinkedIn