Irish agribusiness sector flourishes at annual awards

Since it was launched in 2015 the Agribusiness Awards has celebrated excellence in one of Ireland’s biggest sectors

Fri, Nov 24, 2017, 15:00 Updated: Fri, Dec 1, 2017, 11:28

Sponsored by Business River

Each year the Agribusiness Awards recognise and celebrate the most innovative organisations and individuals that have contributed to Ireland's status as a global leader in this vital sector. Industry professionals from all over the country gathered for the gala awards ceremony as 16 trophies were presented to winning companies and individuals whose contribution to the sector has made its mark.

Dan MacSweeney, CEO of the Carbery Group, received the Agribusiness Leader 2017 award, sponsored by GS1 Ireland, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the growth of the sector in Ireland. With a long-standing career behind him, Dan spoke about how proud he is of the company and the job they do for the local people and the farmers in the West Cork region.

“I feel very honoured to be joining other recipients of the Agribusiness Leader, including Aidan Cotter of Bord Bia and Edmond Harty from Dairymaster. This event is very important to the sector, there are a wide range of categories and with the inclusion of awards such as Agribusiness of the Year – Emerging and Rising Star it gives great encouragement to new companies and helps them to grow and develop within the industry,” said MacSweeney.

There was a great emphasis placed on innovation and technology this year as Irish farms and businesses are developing new approaches to an old business and creating a new, modern approach to farming. The new farming app, Herdwatch was prominent in the programme this year taking home two trophies for Agribusiness of the Year – Emerging and Innovation in Agribusiness. Speaking after their win, James Greevy, head of product and marketing spoke about how technology such as Herdwatch is revolutionising modern day farming. “Herdwatch helps to eliminate valuable time that the farmer has to spend on paperwork and allows him to spend that time working on his farm and therefore increase his farm productivity and profit. It was great to win these two prestigious awards tonight because as a young company each award builds credibility for us”, said Greevy.

The overall award for Agribusiness of the Year was presented to J.J. Walsh and Enda Buckley from Carbery Food Ingredients. “We are 50 years in production and the Agribusiness Awards is a great opportunity for us to celebrate a culmination of achievements for our team over the years and be associated with three awards tonight,” said Walsh.

Visum Ltd is a Dublin-based optical engineering company that develops and integrates chemical imaging and other photonics devices for ‘seeing new data’ in production environments. Oonagh McNerney, co – founder and CEO sponsored the awards for the first time this year. “This event is a massive opportunity to network and acknowledge the achievements of the agribusiness sector. Sponsoring the Awards has been very worthwhile, we are a new company so it was a great way to get visibility for our brand in front of some of the biggest players in the sector,” said Mc Nerney.

To find out more about the Agribusiness Awards you can visit the website.