Grant for enterprising farmer Darragh
The RISE Community Fund supported by National Broadband Ireland (NBI) and Granahan McCourt has awarded a €1,000 cash grant to Darragh Haugh, a young farmer from Borrisokane, in recognition of his entrepreneurial use of technology to improve the operations and outputs of local farms.
In partnership with Macra na Feirme, the RISE Community Fund ran a national competition to find entrepreneurial young farmers with plans to use technology in innovative ways to enhance their business. As an active member of Macra, 20-year-old Darragh was quick to impress the judges.
As a Second Year agriculture science student at University College Dublin, Darragh grasps every possible opportunity to support the family’s 110-cow dairy farm spread over 160 acres in the heartland of North Tipperary. From a young age, he has continued to develop his passion for implementing technology on the farm.
Darragh said: “During the pandemic, farmers faced extreme challenges as fertiliser costs continued to rise and the nitrates laws were getting more and more challenging. Sitting down with my father one day, we said to each other that this is the end of any fertiliser waste, in any shape or form.
“I had the idea of getting a GPS system for the tractor, figuring that this would eliminate any losses in the field from overlapping and it would allow us to know exactly how many acres we were spreading. This analysis could then be compared to how many bags of fertiliser we were using to ensure the amounts per acre were accurate.”
After purchasing the system, Darragh says that’s when the fun really started. “I went around every paddock in the farm and mapped them. There was no more guess work, no more looking for the shiny tramline in the sun. We could just press the button and away you go. Every single run is 100% accurate, you know exactly how much fertiliser you are spreading, and there is no wastage whatsoever. We estimate that we saved more than 10% of fertiliser, which translates to a significant reduction in our bills.”
MAPPING HIS FARM
Since mapping his own farm, Darragh has gone on to map six other farms in the area, and he has plans to expand his operations further.
David McCourt, technology entrepreneur, founder of RISE and Chairman of National Broadband Ireland, commented: “Darragh epitomises the entrepreneurial talent that so many young farmers in Ireland have today. What started as a lockdown project during the pandemic has turned into a scalable business that has already developed an incredible track-record.
“As a global leader in agriculture, we know that Ireland boasts some of the most talented farmers in the world, and with this dedicated programme awarding grants to young farmers, we’ve been honoured to champion recipients like Darragh who have crystal clear plans to use technology in new and exciting ways.”
- Watch more of Darragh’s story at www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAhLne3nku0.