Irish “Software as a Service” (SaaS) company Farm Flo Ltd were announced as Ireland Region Winners of the 2016 European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) at the Satellite Masters Conference 2016 in Madrid last night, 25 October 2016. The ESNC Ireland Region Competition is organised and sponsored by National Space Centre Ltd.
The Farm Flo entry is an easy to use App which is designed to plug into Farm Flo’s existing software to maximise efficiency for farmers by eliminating reams of dreaded paperwork. The Farm Flo App enable farmers and farm consultants to gather location specific data on mobile devices such as smart phones regardless of the availability of internet connectivity on the farm, synching to update farm software once connectivity is restored.
The App provides the user the with off-line ability to pinpoint exact areas using satellite technology and record related information such as growth records of crops, causes of crop stress and action plans for problem areas, to be updated once internet connectivity is restored via a mobile network or wi-fi connection.
Welcoming the award, Dan O’Donoghue Farm Flo Ltd said “Farm Flo’s product enables greatly improved record keeping for farm planning and compliance, more efficient use of time along with much reduced stress for the typically self employed, sole trader farmer and their professional advisors.
Farm Flo’s Internet of Things and People is designed to harness internet and satellite technologies for the farmer and advisor. The advisor recommendations seamlessly transfer from the advisors to the farmers mobile device, eliminating paper and duplicate copies, e.g. for agrochemical recommendations. Stock levels and use of farm inputs such as seed, feed, fertiliser, agrochemicals and animal treatments and medicines can be maintained and reconciled using Farmflo.”
NSC Chief Executive Rory Fitzpatrick congratulated Farm Flo and said “Technology such as this will be crucial with the global population expected to increase to 9 billion by the year 2050. The UN estimate that food production has to increase by at least 50%. Knowing what to do and when is crucial for farmers to optimise their farms performance within compliance requirements and we are delighted and proud to see an Irish Company drive this innovation.
Farmflo have adapted the App for Global use and are currently rolling it out across new markets including U.K., New Zealand and Australia.
ABOUT FARMFLO www.farmflo.com
Based in Dongal, Farmflo launched in 2015 and their technology is already being utilised by many farmers and advisors across Ireland and the UK covering hundreds of thousands of farming acres. Farmflo have invested heavily in the development of this next generation of farming software with a continuous improvement approach that ensures new products and feature enhancements are deployed regularly. www.farmflo.com
ABOUT ESNC www.esnc.info
The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) was launched 2004 with three partner regions and has since grown into a leading global network of innovation and expertise with more than 160 stakeholders involved, including the European Space Agency (ESA).