Nomination for Farming App

Nomination for IrelandCattlePrice.com

By Thomas Conway

Established by Newport-based farmer Brendan Kennedy just a number of months ago, the online farming resource IrelandCattlePrice.com has now been shortlisted for a prestigious Technology Industry Ireland award, marking the latest milestone for the website and app, which enables farmers to report and obtain real-time market prices for their animals and also brings together mart information and price reports.

Based in Farneigh, Newport and run by Brendan himself, IrelandCattlePrice.com has received a nomination in the ‘Tech 4 Good Product Award’ category, along with three other finalists.

The annual awards ceremony will take place in the Round Room of Dublin’s Mansion House on Friday, November 20, and is intended to both “recognise outstanding business” and “shine a light on the continuous positive impact the sector has on wider society”.

This year’s awards have garnered the highest ever number of entries across the four ‘Tech 4 Good’ categories, which “recognise the use of technology to address challenges including environmental sustainability, accessibility and social equity”.

Developed with the use of artificial intelligence earlier this year, Brendan says that IrelandCattlePrice.com is growing increasingly popular, not only amongst farmers themselves but also in terms of potential commercial backers who may be willing to support the app going forward.

“I’m getting places, the app is getting places. Particularly on the research side, on the official side. People are starting to back the app,” Brendan says.

‘Good for farmers’

Designed to provide a more transparent, efficient and accessible system for reporting and obtaining information on the market price of cattle, the IrelandCattlePrice site now features comprehensive data relating to factory and mart prices.

It also contains links to several other agricultural websites and effectively collates as much price-related farming information as possible and displays it all in the one place. Brendan himself feels that farmers are gradually starting to understand what he is trying to do and he firmly believes that the app is benefitting the farming community.

“What I’m doing is good for farmers, and I think they’re beginning to see that,” he says. “I’ve yet to hear anyone say a bad thing about the app, about what I’m doing.”

The Newport farmer has already been nominated for several other awards and is now regularly attending agricultural summits and gatherings. In a few days’ time, he will speak at a farm safety conference in Dublin. He intends to use his speech to emphasise the overall health impact of price uncertainty on farmers.

“My angle is that farmers aren’t getting a fair price. They’re not getting a fair income and they can’t afford to upgrade their safety equipment. And their mental health will suffer as well because they don’t know the price going forward or their income going forward,” he explains.

He will later head to Brussels for an event linked to Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation arm, where he hopes to further showcase the app and possibly secure some funding for it.

As a farmer himself, Brendan feels he has an authentic insight into the sector and he knows the struggles that farmers are facing. He believes his app is part of the solution in terms of introducing more price transparency and making life easier for farmers.

It has been a remarkable couple of months for the Ballinahinch native, who has poured huge time and effort in this venture, which is only really just kicking off.

“I spend a lot of time working on it, but it’s time I’m enjoying,” he concludes.