On today’s Down to Business Bobby Kerr spoke to Fabien Peyaud, whose new app Herdwatch looks set to change Irish farming.

Herdwatch, which launched last year, helps farmers keep electronic records of their cattle and also allows them to save several hours in their working week.

Based out of Roscrea, Tipperary, it has got off to a fine start, beating off the competition from almost 300 applicants to win the AIB Start-Up Acadamy, securing the top prize of €250,000.

The app has a variety of features, and could save farmers four or five hours per week:

• It helps farmers keep electronic records through the app, which helps give farmers piece of mind with farm regulation inspectors.
• It allows farmers to register calf births instantly. Calf births must be electronically registered and Herdwatch allows its customers to do this without delay.
• Herdwatch makes recording and managing breeding events easier than ever for dairy and suckler Farmers.
• With ‘Fast Mode,’ Herdwatch allows you to record weights quickly and immediately displays the Average Daily Gain (ADG) since the last weight.

Co-founder Peyaud spoke of his delight at winning the massive cash prize, saying “They’ve given us everything we’ve ever dreamt of.”

He also dispelled the notion that farmers, particularly elderly ones, are technology adverse:

“We see farmers of all ages taking it up... they’ll only take up something that will save them time or money, and Herdwatch does both.”

Herdwatch launched after two years of research and development backed by well-known farming organisation FRS Network (Farm Relief Services).

It has since developed a customer base of almost 1,000 farmers, which is growing every day, offering potential time-savings of up to 4/5 hours a week and easy compliance with Bord Bia and EU animal remedy regulations, among other features, for less than €2 a week (€99 a year inc. VAT). 

The app has been approved by the Department of Agriculture and the ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation).

Below is the interview in full.