Agricultural Innovators Expanding Their Canadian Footprint

Farming is big business for Northern Ireland. 75% of its land is used for agriculture, and the local industry has spawned major brands like Norbrook Laboratories and investors like Kingspan.

Northern Ireland is a global leader in equipment manufacturing, technology and academic research in the field. This combination of expertise—coupled with a love of the land and passion for innovation—means Northern Ireland farms for the future, developing innovative, reliable farming equipment and agri-tech that can help increase profits, manage land, boost yields and safeguard food quality.

Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show: Wed, Nov 10th

On Wednesday, November 10th we’re bringing some of our world-class Northern Ireland agri companies to Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show Digital Innovation Day. (You can register for free here.)

The ten companies offer machinery and technology suitable for all types of North American farms, and the capacity and capability to service the Canadian market. Some are seeking dealer/distributor partners in Canada to help them grow their business.

More information on the companies and their offerings are below. I’m happy to make introductions, so feel free to chat to me during the event or contact me directly. We’ll also have three presentations on the day:

·???????9:45am EST—CattleEye will discuss how they use machine vision for autonomous livestock monitoring.

·???????10:45am EST—Invest Northern Ireland will highlight farming solutions from the region.

·???????11:45am EST—Quadcrate will discuss their recent arrival into Canada at Izumi Outdoors, and how their quad/ATV attachments help farmers work more efficiently.

Hope to ‘see’ you there!

Modern Machinery

Erth Engineering specializes in functional, robust farm machinery, designed and built in Northern Ireland. The company is a market leader in the UK and Ireland for auto-reset grass subsoilers and grass disk drills – they’re particularly known for their Panbuster Subsoiler and Agriseeder Seed Drill along with a range of other non-powered cultivation equipment. They are now supplying worldwide.

Fleming Agri has been producing agricultural machinery for more than 150 years and currently exports over 100 product lines to more than 20 countries worldwide. The company’s motto is “Simplicity is our strength,” appealing to farmers who want efficient, hard-wearing equipment without any fuss. Throughout its history, the company has remained committed to providing customers around the world with products and service that align with its values of quality, strength and value for money. Products include aerators, bale handling equipment, grass toppers, harrows, land rollers, shear grabs, trailers and slurry tankers.

Herbst Machinery is a leading manufacturer of quality trailers for the agricultural and construction sectors. They manufacture a wide portfolio of products, including low loaders, dump trailers, dump loaders, drop-side trailers, gravel trailers, bale trailers, livestock trailers and slurry tankers. In recent years, they have also diversified into the recycling sector with the introduction of their Screener and Crushing machines.

Kingspan is a multi-billion-dollar industry player, with offices and manufacturing facilities across the globe. Northern Ireland is where they manufacture tanks like the TruckMaster, a high-quality portable fuel storage and dispensing system specifically designed for the safe transport of diesel fuel. With four capacities and the ability to be stored on the back of a truck, it allows users to transfer and refuel remotely on-site. Their accompanying smart monitoring system provides real-time data for full visibility and control of assets, tracking consumption and alerting to sudden drops. (Click here to listen to a WEDA Connect podcast with Laura Juhas from Kingspan.)

Quadcrate?was developed as?a creative solution to a?transport?problem on the founders’ farm in Northern Ireland. Using an ATV meant they?could travel?across soft ground heavier vehicles couldn’t access, however they wanted to make the ATV/Quad more versatile for managing farm tasks. Quadcrate developed a range of attachments made to perform multiple jobs, from unrolling sheep wire to transporting smaller livestock,?making?the operator more productive and efficient. Quadcrate can?carry loads of more than 130 pounds spread evenly across the bike?and are effective on hilly terrain. They?are easy to install, simple to operate, and compatible with most ATVs.

UPU Industries manufactures bale netting for crop protection. Founded in Northern Ireland, the company exports to over 30 countries and has a manufacturing base in Kansas City. Their Farmer’s brand specializes in big bale solutions, including net wrapping, pallet netting and baler twine for hay, straw, stalks and silage baling. Using innovative production techniques, their net wrap is perfectly flat across the whole roll of netting. Field testing has demonstrated this guarantees a tighter bale with over-the-edge cover to ensure the most efficient storage and transportation of round bales. UPU also manufactures specifically engineered pallet netting used in the transportation of products that need to breathe – vegetables or other materials that need to be held in place by a strong and flexible netting that will not fail. (Click here to listen to a WEDA Connect podcast with Sharon Moffitt from UPU Industries.)

Clontec Manufacturing specializes in the manufacture of high-quality low-loader trailers for the agricultural and construction industries. The development of the trailers over the years has been led by customer recommendations and design requirements.?With strong sales in UK and Ireland, the company is now actively seeking a partner in Canada.

Advanced Agri-Tech

Cattle Eye is the world's first autonomous livestock video monitoring AI platform, with hands-free monitoring of cow welfare and performance. Their technology can provide early detection of lameness, helping treat livestock more effectively and lessening antibiotics use. Cattle Eye doesn’t require collars, pedometers or tags, and results are delivered to a?smartphone. The increased efficiency can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30% per gallon of milk produced.

CropHound uses remote sensors combined with Artificial Intelligence to monitor plant growth; predict weed, pest and disease pressures on the plants; and alert the grower to potential problems long before they would normally see any issues. CropHound follows the plants’ growth on a daily basis by capturing an image using an off-the-shelf remote camera placed in the field, orchard or vineyard. There is also a weather station connected to the sensor which gathers weather data (air temp, humidity, soil temperature or any other parameters that can be measured). The image together with the weather data is uploaded to the cloud where they use AI to analyse the images, which can show daily growth rates, weed presence and type, disease presence and type, and the presence and species of pests.

Farm Compare launched in 2019 and has helped over 85,000 farmers search and compare products in minutes, cutting out the stress by matching them up with the equipment and tools that best match their requirements. The comparison website simplifies the process of buying farming equipment, allowing purchasers to make better-informed decisions. FarmCompare.com compares the best offers from top local and national dealers, ensuring farmers get what they need from a reputable dealer and, most importantly, for the best value.