The British Farming Awards has, for over a decade, served as a barometer for innovation in UK agriculture. This year’s finalists in the Agri-Tech Innovator of the Year category reveal a sector in transition—one where technology is no longer an optional extra but a necessity for addressing productivity, sustainability, and resilience.
At the heart of this shift is a new generation of solutions that bridge the gap between policy demands and on-farm practicality. Take **Soil Benchmark**, the North Yorkshire start-up that has digitised the laborious process of soil and nutrient management planning. By automating compliance with the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), the platform has already mapped nearly a million hectares of English farmland—equivalent to 9.2% of the country’s agricultural area. Its rapid adoption underscores how streamlined data management is becoming a cornerstone of modern farming, freeing agronomists from paperwork to focus on strategic decisions. With expansion into Wales and Scotland underway, the company’s growth reflects a broader trend: farms are increasingly seeking tools that simplify regulation while improving efficiency.
Water management, too, is undergoing a quiet revolution. **JRH Water Management** in Lincolnshire has spent over a decade refining rainwater harvesting systems tailored to UK farms. By capturing and repurposing runoff from agricultural buildings, the company helps farms reduce reliance on mains or borehole supplies—a critical advantage as droughts become more frequent. The system’s low-maintenance design and cost-saving potential have driven adoption through word of mouth, proving that sometimes the most impactful innovations are those that solve long-overlooked inefficiencies.
Meanwhile, **Martin Lishman’s** Barn Owl Wireless system demonstrates how decades of refinement can yield transformative results. Originally developed in the early 2000s, the technology now combines real-time monitoring with AI-driven fan control to optimise grain storage conditions, cutting energy use by up to 40%. Its newly redesigned web app allows farmers to track temperature, humidity, and CO₂ remotely, reducing waste and safeguarding crop quality. The system’s evolution mirrors the broader trajectory of agri-tech: incremental improvements, guided by farmer feedback, are leading to step-change gains in sustainability and profitability.
For livestock producers, **Herdwatch** is redefining how data is used on farm. The Shropshire-based platform has replaced paperwork for over 22,000 UK and Irish farmers, integrating everything from animal health records to compliance documentation in one mobile app. Its 2025 launch of **Herdi**, an AI assistant that contextualises farm data with external factors like weather and market trends, marks a significant leap. By delivering actionable insights in seconds—whether identifying underperforming livestock or optimising fertiliser use—Herdwatch is making precision farming accessible to producers of all scales. The implications are clear: as regulatory and market pressures mount, farms that harness data-driven decision-making will gain a competitive edge.
Cost remains a barrier for many farmers looking to adopt new technology, but **GreenStalk** in Norfolk is proving that innovation doesn’t require wholesale equipment upgrades. The company’s modular platform retrofits older machinery with smart sensors, enabling real-time monitoring and control without the need for expensive replacements. By focusing on interoperability, GreenStalk allows farms to gradually integrate technology, from grain stores to irrigation systems, at a manageable cost. This approach is particularly relevant as input prices rise and margins tighten, offering a pragmatic path to digitalisation.
In the realm of animal health, **O2 Agri’s** “super water” technology is pushing boundaries. By hyper-oxygenating water, the Shropshire-based company has demonstrated dramatic improvements in poultry health—halving mortality rates, reducing antibiotic use, and cutting ammonia emissions. With trials now extending to pigs and cattle, the potential for cross-sector impact is significant. The technology aligns with two pressing industry priorities: improving welfare and reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint. As chemical inputs face greater scrutiny, solutions like O2 Agri’s could redefine how farms approach disease prevention and productivity.
Fire risk, too, is being tackled with fresh ingenuity. Essex-based **Fireward** has adapted industrial fire suppression technology for agricultural machinery, developing a dual-agent system that detects and extinguishes combine harvester fires in seconds. With NFU Mutual offering insurance discounts to users, the innovation highlights how technology can mitigate both financial and operational risks—a critical consideration as climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events.
Finally, **KEENAN’s** four-decade journey from a single paddle-mixer to the MechFiber+ feed system illustrates how enduring innovation can shape an entire sector. By improving feed efficiency and reducing waste, the company’s technology has delivered measurable gains in milk yield and carbon reduction. Its continued evolution, now incorporating telematics and automation, reflects the broader direction