In 2022 the team at farmdrive ‘set out to build something that farmers actually needed […] a practical, easy-to-use app built for farmers, by farmers’ and at this year’s Balmoral Show, their success was further recognised as they were crowned the inaugural winners of the Show’s New Product Innovation Award, proudly sponsored by Farming Life and Farm Week.
The ground-breaking app farmdrive, was designed to help farmers handle their livestock management in real time. From registering births, deaths and movements to tracking animal growth and performance, farmdrive is a user-friendly solution to reducing paperwork and simplifying regulatory requirements.
With backgrounds in computer science, finance, and cybersecurity coupled with a lifetime of experience on family farms, app developers Gareth Gordon and Gareth McDonald identified a new opportunity after conversations with fellow farmers at local agricultural shows.
Gareth McDonald recalled, ‘We realised there was a real gap in the market when farmers kept telling us, “Nothing out there actually works the way we do”. It all started with a few honest conversations in a cattle shed. Farmers were fed up with tools that ticked compliance boxes but didn’t help them improve. That frustration pushed us to build something better, to build something practical, farmer first, and genuinely useful. That’s how farmdrive began’.
The New Product Innovation Award was introduced earlier this year by the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society’s Trade Exhibits Committee to reward and recognise innovation within the agricultural industry and highlight new products and services to the Northern Ireland market.
Chair of the RUAS Trade Exhibits Committee, David Mark explained, ‘When interviewing the shortlisted finalists, our judges were looking for products or services that were ground-breaking and had applied their engineering or intellectual property ideas to deliver a standout solution.
‘We were really impressed by all the finalists, with a variety of engineering and software solutions, but in farmdrive we saw a team dedicated to delivering a simple user-friendly solution that added value to the process.
‘The integration, collaboration and information sharing in real-time with the processor and multiple supermarket chains was incredibly forward looking’.
Commenting on their win, Gareth Gordon said, ‘It’s a real honour to be the first winners of this award. A big moment for our team and the farmers we built this for’.
Also shortlisted from the 2025 entries were the ePulse from EASYFIX, the MK1200 Rear Discharge Muck Spreader from SpreadPoint, the Slurryquip RC150 Mobile Separator from SRF Ltd, the Soil Health Hub from Kilwaughter Lime and the Weed Wipeout from Blaney Agri & Quad X.
As worthy winners of the inaugural Balmoral Show New Product Innovation Award, Gareth and Gareth from farmdrive will receive a tailored £1,500 advertising package with the Farming Life/Farm Week to continue to lift farmdrive to new heights.
Diane Burke from National World, parent company of Farming Life and Farm Week said, ‘We at Farming Life and Farm Week were incredibly proud to sponsor the New Product Innovation Award at the Balmoral Show. It's always inspiring to see the creativity and dedication of local businesses. Well done to all the finalists, and a huge congratulations to farmdrive! They really deserve the recognition. It was a fantastic showcase of innovation and hard work from everyone’.
The 156th Balmoral Show in partnership with Ulster Bank took place from Wednesday 14th to Saturday 17th May 2025 at the Eikon Exhibition Centre. For further information on results please click here.
