Winter 2025 Newsletter
Edition 4 / Issue 3
Welcome to the Winter 2025 Edition of the AgTech Ireland
Dear Members and Friends in Agtech,
Welcome to the Winter 2025 edition of the AgTech Ireland Newsletter.
It has been a busy and productive year. After our new-year trip to Paris to explore the French agtech ecosystem, we partnered with ISIF to host an engagement with agtech innovation funders in April; delivered our first showcase conference with the Irish Farmers’ Journal on Transforming Agriculture with Artificial Intelligence in May; and once again collaborated with Teagasc to provide an exceptional exhibition platform for our member innovators at the 2025 Moorepark Open Day in July.
Plans for 2026 are developing rapidly. We are preparing a new-year trip to Brussels to examine how technological innovation aligns with emerging CAP agri-environmental policies. Research and advisory initiatives with Teagasc are also in development to strengthen understanding of available technologies and to build closer connections between innovators, researchers, and advisors, including clearer protocols for data access and collaboration. In addition, we aim to work with Teagasc on a pilot network of “sandbox” trial farms for testing novel technologies – more to come on this.
Meanwhile, the agricultural policy landscape continues to shift. The European Commission has recently proposed a three-year extension of the nitrates derogation, which was approved by the EU Nitrates Committee, with significant additional obligations on farmers and higher levels of farm inspections. The EU–Mercosur trade deal could move forward with reduced opposition from EU member states, or face further delay following the discovery of hormone residues in imported frozen beef. CAP negotiations continue, with the risk of tighter budgets adding pressure on farm investment at a time when regulatory and compliance demands are still increasing.
In this context, the role of AgTech Ireland and its members is more important than ever. Farmers will continue to depend on practical, proven innovations that help them remain competitive, sustainable, and resilient in the face of change.
Thank you for your continued commitment to AgTech Ireland. I hope you find this edition insightful, and as always, we welcome your ideas, feedback, and involvement.
I wish you and yours the very best for Christmas and the New Year.
With best regards,
Lloyd Pearson
Chairperson
AgTech Ireland