A smart remote gate release system developed by a Co. Clare company has won the 2024 AXA National Dairy Innovation Awards.

The annual awards recognise a new product or service which has been launched over the past 12 months that has revolutionised some aspect of dairy farming.

The winners were announced at a ceremony held this evening (Friday, October 11) on the first day of the AXA National Dairy Show at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Co. Cork.

There were 12 companies shortlisted for this year's awards across several categories: technology; scientific and engineering.

There were also awards presented for sustainability and for the best start up company.

True North Technologies, based in Shannon, Co. Clare, was selected by the judges as the overall winner for its E-Gate Grazing Management System.

The system integrates software with a weather station hosted on the farm and connected via the home Wi-Fi.

The e-gate can be controlled and monitored from anywhere in the world using the e-gate smart phone app which the company says saves time for farmers and can reduce lameness in cows.

The e-gate uses technology to interpret a range of environmental and device factors including the fence strength in kilovolts (KVs), if the gate is open or closed, the devices location, temperature and rainfall reporting it back to the farmers phone in real-time.

This informs the farmer of what is happening on the ground, allowing them to set parameters that will automatically open the gate or help them to make an informed decision on whether to let cows in or not.

True North Technologies began its innovation journey in 2012 with its first product -Grasshopper.

Since then, the company has expanded its product base with ground-breaking technologies that focus on delivering geo-tagged decision support and other solutions to the agricultural sector.

True North Technologies also claimed gold in the engineering section section.

The silver in this category was presented to Autocoupler, an automatic hydraulic coupling system for tractors loaders, shovels or teleporters.

The winner in the technology section Moonsyst for its Calf Rumen eBolus which monitors temperature and activity and will alert for metabolic health conditions in calves.

The bolus is designed to last two years, therefore can also be used for the first breeding season.

The silver in the technology section was presented to Creva for its Urban HygieneSet UV-C which provides a non-chemical, environmentally friendly method to disinfect drinking teats.

The judges choose Biocel NUVOSAN TeatGard as the winner of the scientific section. The product aids prevention of mastitis bacteria and teat skin condition in dairy cows.

The silver was awarded to Burpeez, an environmentally friendly netwrap to save farmers time and labour when feeding cattle.

Moonsyst was selected as the Sustainability Award winner, while Autocoupler was named Best Start Up at the awards.