Rachel Martin: Honey I shrunk the farm; why the future of farming is micro

Precision farming is about to get micro-sized.

If there’s one thing I learned during my debut on the judging panel of the Innovation Awards at this year’s National Dairy Show, it’s that precision farming is about to get micro-sized - and by that, I mean a new focus on livestock microbiology.

From AHV's products which claim to disrupt the vesicles released by parasites to methane-reducing feed additives, which work by inhibiting methanogenic archaea, and even a mobile microscope allowing lab-quality parasite testing on-farm, it's clear that the importance of looking to the microbiology of the animal in order to drive productivity and performance is really about to take off.

As most Farming readers will already know, when we feed a ruminant, essentially, we are really feeding the rumen microbes, which in turn, produce volatile fatty acids and microbial protein, which then are absorbed by the animal as a source of nutrition.

The development of protected protein was one of the first major developments in this area. But now it feels like a new era of science is really about to take off.

The level of understanding of the rumen microbiome has taken a quantum leap in recent years, however, research is racing to fill the remaining gaps in understanding while also harnessing their newfound knowledge to answer some of the biggest challenges we face as stockmen.

It suddenly feels like the answer to reducing methane emissions, combatting anti-microbial resistance, and even tackling common ailments like fluke on-farm could be not so far away.

While the overall winner, DSM with its methane-reducing supplement, was a real stand out, with the potential to solve one of the biggest challenges facing not just Irish dairy, but also international dairy, it’s clear ag is getting smart and farmers are really buying in.

At every stand we judged, we could see the hoards of punters wanting to know more about the products.

As anyone we spoke to will attest, we were rigorous in our criteria. We sought out products that would have a real impact, with claims backed up by robust research and trials.

Ideas which were affordable and practical to apply on farm also got a few bonus points.

One of my favourite entries this year was an invention from a company called Micron Agritech, which included a mini microscope that will facilitate the on-farm testing of dung samples – in some cases the results have even come back with better accuracy than some labs in independent testing. 

This technology is particularly clever as it allows the user to perch their smartphone on top of the microscope to capture the image of the sample. This is then submitted to an app which uses artificial intelligence to analyse the sample so there is no human bias.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect is the cost - just €550 to buy the kit, plus an annual subscription charge of €1,000 which allows an unlimited number of samples to be tested.

At this point, the equipment is being marketed toward vets, but it's a great example of the kind of innovation and developments that are already pushing our industry to the next level. I could certainly imagine groups of larger farms pairing up to buy this technology in the near future.

On Saturday, stepping away from the gadgets and gizmos galore, the top stock was the real crowd-pleaser.

Ahead of the final few Holstein classes, I had to elbow my way through the crowd to even catch a glimpse of a top line. Although it maybe doesn’t help that I’m not the tallest!

Congratulations to all who entered cattle on the superb turnout. Any I saw in the ring could easily have topped another line-up.

And of course, a huge well done to Wexford-based dairy farmer Philip Jones who bred this year's Irish Examiner Supreme Champion.