An open day in Co. Limerick tomorrow (Saturday, November 19) is set to focus on organic sheep farming and smart technology.
The event is being organised by the multi-award winning company, Cotter Agritech, which was founded by brothers, Jack and Nick Cotter.
The pair developed the Cotter Crate, a sheep handling and monitoring system which aims to transform how farmers care for their animals.
The technology facilitates the quick, safe and accurate administration of vaccines, doses and drenches to lambs from three weeks-of-age.
The Cotter Crate combines hardware to address animal handling and labour issues, with novel software called ‘SmartWorm’ that tackles resistance to wormers, according to the brothers.
The technology helps farmers to reduce drench use by up to 50% by only administering treatment to sheep that require it.
Drench resistance is now common in the majority of sheep flocks in Ireland and the UK.
Reducing the use of these drugs to as much as necessary but as little as possible is key to protect against the development of further resistance, according to the Cotter brothers.
Open Day
The ‘Sheep Organics and Cotter Crate Open Day’ will take place from 9:00a.m-11:00a.m tomorrow at an organic sheep farm in Co. Limerick.
The event is the second in a series of open days hosted by Cotter Agritech to “facilitate knowledge transfer between sheep farmers” and discuss the future of the sector.
Farmers in attendance will hear from an organic sheep farmer on their experience since converting their holding over a decade ago.
An organic specialist from Teagasc will discuss the Organic Farming Scheme (OFS), which is currently open for new entrants, while a representative of the Organic Trust will outline the organic inspection process.
The event will also examine the use of smart technologies to reduce emissions and include a demonstration of the Cotter Crate.
Farmers can register for the event on https://www.cotteragritech.com/colimerickdemo