Necessity is the mother of invention,” as the old saying goes.

This certainly proved true when it came to the winners of the National Inventions Awards that took place at this year’s Tullamore Show.

All were very different, but shared the common goal of meeting a market need.

The Irish Farmers Journal spoke to the winners of three categories at the awards that had agriculture-related inventions.

Jack Pilkington, CEO of Agri Data Analytics, set up Clonearl Engineering based out of Daingean in Co Offaly in 2020.

This led him to working with agricultural research bodies, such as the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc. Through this work, a gap in the market for a product was spotted.

“It’s from working with them that we saw there was a lack of adequate methane monitoring equipment available on the market for agricultural researchers and at a high cost to the industry.

“It was over €100,000 for some of the machines that were being purchased. We decided to develop a better machine that will be more effective and cost-effective for industry as well,” he says.

The development of the bovine breathalyser, a tool for researchers, began a year and a half ago. Jack co-founded Agri Data Analytics with Alan O’Donovan, chief technology officer.

Jack explains how the methane monitoring system for cattle works.

“It’s a feeding system, a non-invasive device. The animal voluntarily comes up to the feeder. While the animal feeds, the bovine breathalyser sucks up its breath. We pull a sample of that out, that goes into the control box and we analyse that. It goes through methane and Co2 sensors predominantly.

“That gives us a graph in parts per million. We then convert that through our algorithm, which gives a result in grammes per day per animal. That is ultimately what researchers are looking for.

“This data can be used to improve methane from agriculture [by informing] feed efficiency, added supplementation to the animal’s diet or through genetic optimisation,” he adds.

Challenges

One of the challenges faced while developing the invention was being able to use it at grass. This is currently being circumvented by making it portable, so it can be put on a trailer and powered by solar panels while in the field.

“It’s going to be able to be used out at grass on a trailer, so you can get tests throughout the day for an all-round reading,” Alan explains.

The company took part in the ag tech programme at Lyons Farm and also displayed with Enterprise Ireland at both the Innovations Arena at the Ploughing and a show in New Zealand.

There are trials planned later this year in Australia with the University of Queensland.

The prototype is currently being tested, with the first product sale expected later this year.

Seán Brett’s invention, Tank It, came from personal experience on the home farm. Going into fifth year in CBS Thurles, Seán’s slurry pit manhole cover stemmed from a desire to keep his family members safe on the farm, including his little sister.

“I live on a farm at home and my dad rents land that is further away too.

“He would have always been leaving pallets and barrels as an obstacle, so no one could fall into the slurry pit.

It’s portable and there’s a handle on top, so a farmer can move it from pit to pit with whatever is on their tractor

“I have a little nine-year-old sister, I have a granny who’s always on the farm and I have a dog, so it’s just to stay safe,” Seán explains.

Tank It covers a slurry pit manhole and includes an attachment through which a hose can be fed down into the pit.

Portable manhole cover

“It’s a steel, portable manhole cover used when spreading slurry on farms. It’s dropped on to the pit when a farmer is spreading slurry and when Tank It is in place, nothing or nobody can fall in.

“The legs can be moved in and out to suit every manhole. It’s portable and there’s a handle on top, so a farmer can move it from pit to pit with whatever is on their tractor. Whether it’s a grab, pallet forks, anything,” he says.

Keeping it local, Procraft Engineering is manufacturing Tank It, with a few orders coming in at the Tullamore Show.

The idea for Tank It first came to Seán last September, so it is nearly a year in the making to date.

It started out as his transition year enterprise company.

Over the past 12 months, a lot of research and development has gone into the product.

“I’ve had a lot of different prototypes.

“It took us a while to come up with the finished product. For example, at the start, we had channel iron at both sides of it so you could pick it up with pallet forks.

“However, we figured out from research that not every farmer has pallet forks. So we created a handle on top instead, which also made it cheaper.

Trial

“It’s used on my own farm, it’s used on my uncle’s farm and it’s currently being trialled on different farms across Ireland,” Seán adds.

While Seán won the student category of the National Inventions Awards at the Tullamore Show, he is no stranger to silverware.

He came second at the national finals of the Student Enterprise Awards, as well as winning best innovation and intellectual property.

Paul Smyth’s invention, which took home a red rosette at the awards, is a follow-on from a previous product he developed.

From Co Antrim, over five years ago Paul – through his business Greenhill Systems – made sheeting for sheds that lets light in and keeps heat out.

The sheeting started out flat and in the past year he has developed a curved version.

“The sheet has a heat guard which has been out a few years, but it’s now a curved sheet. So it’s suitable for Dutch barns, hay sheds, that type of shed.”

Benefit

“The big benefit of the sheet is you get light through it, but you don’t get the heat buildup. It’s nice and cool for cows or for yourself to work under. It keeps the shed cool and bright,” he explains.

The curve came about purely through demand, Paul explains.

“We were asked about the curve. People wanted to cover hay sheds and the like, so we made a curved one. It goes into a big oven. It’s on a frame and it folds around the frame really. We sell it to builders or farmers and they go on and do the work.”

Sheeting

The sheeting is mainly sold in Ireland and the UK, but Paul has also had enquiries from as far away as Australia.

Contact us by email at news@farmersjournal.ie.