Rebooting Ireland

Rebooting Ireland: Irish agritech business Herdwatch aims to expand with investment of more than €1 million

By Business & Finance
23 July 2020

Irish agritech business Herdwatch aims to expand beyond its market base of Ireland and the UK with the investment of more than €1 million going towards revamping its software solution.

Founded  in 2011 by Fabien Peyaud in Co. Tipperary, the company offers a farm management solution to paid subscribers numbering approximately 12,500. Their customers are dairy and beef farmers.

On this investment, Mr. Peyaud said: “We’ve about a quarter of dairy farmers in Ireland on the platform and there’s probably another quarter that would benefit from using Herdwatch and in Britain it is a similar story.

“The next five years are about global expansion with a plan to be in a lot more markets. We are currently in talks over possible partnerships that will see us making an even bigger difference for farmers.”

There is an estimated two million cattle farmers in the European Union and the US. Mr. Peyaud expressed enthusiasm at the opportunity this presents.

The company forecasts that annual recurring revenue will double from an expected €2 million in 2020 to €4 million by the end of 2022. This in spite of the ongoing global pandemic.

The software was developed when Mr. Peyaud noticed that farmers were not using any kind of software to help manage their business. It was the inaugural winner of the AIB Start-up Academy in 2015, and is fully approved by the Department of Agriculture.