A Co. Wexford farmer who is completing a Masters in Animal Health at University College Dublin (UCD) has scooped this year’s Communications Prize from the Guild of Agricultural Journalists (the Agri-Guild).

Méabh Byrne from Clonroche impressed the judging panel with her 'One Lab' project proposal.

The idea came about as she realised that animal owners - particularly livestock farmers, equine owners and veterinary professionals - often experience significant delays in obtaining diagnostic test results.

This is due to samples being sent to multiple specialist laboratories. Some of the tests include blood, milk, faecal, forage, feed, water, soil, microbiology and disease diagnostics.

Most of these are frequently processed at separate facilities which can result in longer turnaround times, increased administration, and fragmented communication.

As a result, the delays can postpone diagnosis and treatment which can mean the animal health issues worsen, reducing productivity, increasing costs and negatively affecting animal welfare.

Byrne said that farmers and veterinarians are also required to coordinate with several laboratories and interpret results from different providers.

This makes the diagnostic process inefficient and time-consuming, she said.

Her One Lab project proposes to address these challenges by establishing a fully integrated, accredited diagnostic laboratory that provides a comprehensive "one-stop shop" for animal health testing and consultancy services.

By offering multiple diagnostic services under one roof, supported by interpretation and consultancy, Byrne's idea aims to deliver faster, more accurate results, simplifying the testing process and enabling quicker decisions that improve animal health, welfare and farm performance.

Her project was selected as the overall winner of the Agri Guild Communications Prize by a judging panel comprising chair of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists in the Republic of Ireland and Agriland editor Stella Meehan; Assistant Professor specialising in agri-communications at UCD Claire McCormack; professor at the School of Agriculture and Food Science UCD Dr. Kieran Meade; and lecturer in innovation at UCD Kathleen Lonergan Erickson.

While studying, Byrne also works as a farm management advisor with a strong passion for dairy farming, animal health, and precision livestock technology.

Growing up on her family's dairy farm in Co. Wexford gave her a practical understanding of livestock management from an early age.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree from South East Technological University (SETU) before her masters degree in animal science at UCD.

In her current role, she works with dairy farmers to optimise herd performance through grazing management, nutrition, breeding, and robotic milking technology.

Outside her day job, Byrne has been a strong advocate for women in farming, and was a finalist in the UN Year of the Woman Farmer Ambassador contest held earlier this year.

Commenting on the winning project, Agri-Guild chair and Agriland editor Stella Meehan said: "We were particularly impressed by Méabh's practical application of a solution to a consistent challenge for farmers and livestock owners in the sector.

"She was able to use her real-life experience and relationships with farmers to garner insight into the areas which can be improved and pitched a project with huge real-world potential and communicated it in a compelling and visionary way," Meehan added.

The Agri-Guild chair said: "The Guild of Agricultural Journalists was delighted to present the 2026 Communications Prize to such an innovative thinker and wishes Méabh well in her future endeavours."

On accepting her prize, Byrne said: "It's an honour to win this prize. The projects produced by the other students were also very good and could benefit the industry in a lot of different ways.

"For me, because I have had this idea in my head for a long time, for other people to recognise the benefit of it, having peers in the industry understand the benefit of One Lab, was such an honour," Byrne added.