FarmOps, a farm operations system commissioned by Munster Bovine and brought to life by Limerick software firm ActionPoint could hold the keys to the future of sustainable and data-led farming.
The app’s global potential was recognised recently when Castletroy-based ActionPoint was recognised by global software giant Microsoft with two Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards.
ActionPoint was shortlisted for both a ‘Modern Workplace for SMB’ app it developed for Munster Rugby and ‘Cloud Native App Development’ for a FarmOpsapp it developed for Munster Bovine and walked away with both awards.
“Munster Bovine channeled veterinary expertise through an app into recommended tasks for dairy and beef farmers in Ireland, who need to know what’s best to do and when to do it in an era of increasing regulation and decreasing work-life balance”
Irish farms are in the spotlight as pressure builds for farmers to reduce their environmental footprint. At the same time the role farmers play in the global food supply chain is more important than ever.
The FarmOps platform is intended to be the right solution at the right time for farmers not only in Ireland but potentially around the world.
The digital future of farming
“In managing their herds, farmers gather an overwhelming amount of data,” explained David Jeffreys, CEO of ActionPoint. “This data is used to make decisions related to bovine performance and health, in prescribing antibiotic treatments and improving farm sustainability.
“Munster Bovine wanted to capture and analyse this data and provide tailored advice in an easy-to-use mobile application, that would make farmers’ lives easier while improving their output and profitability.
“Munster Bovine had the vision to create FarmOps, a farm operations system that channelled their veterinary expertise through an app into recommended tasks for dairy and beef farmers in Ireland, who need to know what’s best to do and when to do it in an era of increasing regulation and decreasing work-life balance. ActionPoint was tasked with bringing it to life.”
The technical knowledge from the veterinary team at Munster Bovine and the rigorous testing undertaken by farmers, meant all angles were covered.
FarmOps was launched in September 2020. The application was built on Microsoft Azure and is available for both iOS and Android users.
Jeffreys said that it was important that the app performed on a huge range of mobile devices with a variety of screen sizes and hardware.
“The app carries farmers into a new age of herd management technology, with the Department of Agriculture giving its seal of approval for calf registration and animals’ movements accounted for within FarmOps. It also complies with sustainability regulations set out by Bord Bia’s Sustainable Beef and Lamb Assurance Scheme (SBLAS),” said Jeffreys.
The Microsoft award isn’t the first gong that the FarmOps platform has received. Munster Bovine’s FarmOps Milk Recording Module featuring new Lifetime Margin analyser, won Gold in the Science category at the National Dairy Innovation Awards 2020, and in addition it was also hailed as National Dairy Show Innovation Award – Overall Winner 2020.”
“We wanted to channel our veterinary expertise into an app that provided day to day task lists that would result in year-on-year gains for farmers who use the app,” said James Donovan, IT product manager with Munster Cattle Breeding Group/Munster Bovine.
“Working in partnership with ActionPoint’s innovative Software Team, we were able to deliver a revolutionary app to the Irish agri ector which we can now continue to develop and enhance owing to the flexibility of the solution delivered by ActionPoint.”
