Construction has started on a new state-of-the-art €4.8m AgTechUCD Innovation Centre and Bimeda Herd Health Hub at UCD’s Lyons Farm in Kildare.

The development, which is expected to be completed in Q3 2023, will host a range of facilities, including flexible lab spaces, meeting rooms, offices and an exhibition space.

The AgTechUCD Innovation Centre will promote and accelerate early-stage start-ups and SMEs in the agri, ag-tech, agri-food and veterinary sectors, while the Bimeda Herd Health Hub will provide a national facility for dairy herd health education, research and consultancy.

This farm-based facility will co-locate educators, researchers, innovators and service providers in a single location, allowing them to work together on enhancing Ireland’s capabilities and progress in agricultural and veterinary sciences.

Funding

Funding for the facilities is being provided by Enterprise Ireland, through the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, UCD and a philanthropic donation from Bimeda, a global manufacturer and distributor of veterinary pharmaceuticals and animal health products.

Lyons Farm

UCD Lyons Farm, the university’s research and teaching farm located in Co Kildare, is a fully functioning farm comprising of 250ha of land, with dairy, beef, sheep, equine, crop and environmental research, teaching and commercial facilities.

UCD School of Agriculture and Food Science's Professor Alex Evans said: “It is so exciting to see the development of the AgTechUCD Innovation Centre and the UCD Bimeda Herd Health Hub at UCD Lyons Farm.

“This represents a new phase in UCD’s commitment to innovation, entrepreneurship and outreach in the areas of agriculture, food and veterinary medicine,” he said.