# The farm's memory in a WhatsApp thread: what Furrow is built to do *Published 2026-10-01 by FarmAI Ireland* [Furrow](https://furrow.ie/) is an Irish AI tool that stores a farm's history in a WhatsApp thread. Whoever takes the farm on next can find out what was done, and why. It links the farmer, their advisor and their successor. Built by Monaghan farmer Niall Brennan, it was a finalist in the Start-Up of the Year category at the [2026 Innovation Arena](https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/innovation-arena). No price has been published yet. If succession on your farm happens overnight, the knowledge goes with it. That is the problem this is aimed at, and it is a real one. ## What it claims to do Brennan [told the Irish Farmers Journal](https://www.farmersjournal.ie/news/news/new-ai-tool-aims-to-take-on-farm-decision-stress-out-of-succession-933595) on 26 September that the technology provides a "living memory of the farm". The idea is that you can see what was done in previous months and years, and why. He described it pulling up "anything from old notes, invoices, animal records". It also offers advice on schemes you are eligible for, and answers "simple questions you would usually ask your advisor". It runs on WhatsApp, which Brennan says makes it accessible across ages. You send messages, voice notes and pictures rather than learning new software. On the rules changing, he said: "As rules change, the advice is updated accordingly, compliance is a priority." ## Why WhatsApp is the interesting choice Most farm software fails at the same place: somebody has to open it. An app that needs a login, a password reset and a tutorial does not get used at 6am in a wet yard. WhatsApp is already open on the phone. There is nothing to learn and nothing to install. That is a genuine design decision rather than a feature list, and it is the part of this we would watch. It also means your farm records pass through a service owned by Meta. Worth knowing before you send a decade of invoices into it. ## Who it is actually for Brennan was clear that the hard case is not the successor who has been farming alongside a parent for years. It is the one who has not. "Succession can be overnight in some cases, which is really difficult when the successor hasn't been farming," he said. "A farm can take a tumble quite quickly when there are crops and livestock involved." He said the response at the Ploughing surprised him. He expected younger farmers, and got older ones. Their worry, as he described it, was simple. The person taking the farm on had been away from it for years, and would not know how to run it. "It is like having a living conversation, a conversation you never got to have." That is the strongest argument for the thing. It is not about paperwork efficiency. It is about the twenty years of judgement that never got written down anywhere. ## Where it sits Furrow was one of twelve finalists in Enterprise Ireland's Innovation Arena at the National Ploughing Championships, which ran 15 to 17 September 2026 at Screggan. Four awards were given. Furrow was a finalist in Start-Up of the Year, the category VetPal won with its €10,000 prize. The pattern across those awards is worth noting. As we set out in our [write-up of the Innovation Arena winners](/read/ploughing-2026-innovation-arena-winners-ai), the money went to diagnosis and paperwork rather than the field. Succession records sit squarely in that second group. It joins a small but growing set of Irish attempts at the same problem. One is the [Land Mobility Service matchmaking work we covered in April](/read/macra-land-mobility-ai-farm-succession). Brennan said the tool will launch in Ireland first, with hopes of moving into the European market after that. ## What does it cost? We could not find a published price, and we could not reach an official product site from our own network during this session. That is not the same as saying there is none, and we are not claiming it. One thing worth knowing if you go searching. A separate, unrelated English project uses the same name, so check you have the Irish one. That is normal for a start-up straight out of a competition, and it is not a criticism. But it does mean nobody can tell you yet whether this is worth the money, because the money is not public. **We have not used Furrow.** Everything above is what its founder has said publicly, not a verdict on how it performs. When there is a way to try it and a price to weigh, it is a fair candidate for a proper test. ## What to ask before you put your farm's history in it Five questions, and they apply to any tool of this shape: 1. **Where does the data live, and who owns it?** If you send ten years of invoices and animal records in, can you get them back out in a usable form? 2. **What happens if the company stops trading?** Early-stage start-ups fail. Ask what happens to the archive if this one does. 3. **Is the scheme advice checked against DAFM and Teagasc?** "Schemes you are eligible for" is a claim about subsidy rules that change every year. Ask what it is checked against and how often. 4. **Who is liable when the advice is wrong?** If it tells your successor something incorrect about a scheme deadline, that is a real cost. Get the answer in writing. 5. **Does your advisor agree to be in it?** The tool links the advisor in. That is their professional advice in a WhatsApp thread, and they get a say. Our guide on [how to evaluate any farm tech tool](/guides/how-to-evaluate-any-farm-tech-tool) walks through the rest of it. ## Frequently asked questions **Is Furrow available to Irish farmers now?** Its founder said in September 2026 that it will launch in Ireland first, before any move into Europe. We could not verify a public sign-up or a price at the time of writing, so treat it as early stage and ask directly. **Do I need to be good with technology to use it?** The design point is that you do not. It works inside WhatsApp using messages, voice notes and pictures, which is why its founder said older farmers at the Ploughing took to it. There is no separate app to install or learn. **Can an AI tool replace talking to my Teagasc advisor about succession?** No. Succession involves tax, legal transfer and scheme eligibility, and getting it wrong is expensive. [Teagasc advisors cover succession planning](https://www.teagasc.ie/rural-economy/farm-management/succession--inheritance/). A tool that holds your farm's history is a useful input to that conversation, not a substitute for it. ## Where to get help For succession itself, start with your Teagasc advisor. Tax and legal transfer need a solicitor and an accountant who know farm transfers, and no software changes that. For the wider picture on what AI can and cannot do here, read our [guide to using AI for farm succession planning](/read/farm-succession-planning-ai). ## The bottom line The problem Furrow is aimed at is real, and putting it inside WhatsApp is the smartest thing about it. Ask where your data lives and what the scheme advice is checked against before you trust it with twenty years of the farm's history. --- ## Sources - [Irish Farmers Journal — New AI tool aims to take on-farm decision stress out of succession](https://www.farmersjournal.ie/news/news/new-ai-tool-aims-to-take-on-farm-decision-stress-out-of-succession-933595) — Interview with Furrow founder Niall Brennan, published 26 September 2026 - [Furrow — official site](https://furrow.ie/) — The product's own description of what it does - [Enterprise Ireland — Innovation Arena](https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/innovation-arena) — Runs the Innovation Arena start-up competition at the National Ploughing Championships - [Teagasc — Farm succession and transfer](https://www.teagasc.ie/rural-economy/farm-management/succession--inheritance/) — Irish agriculture and food development authority, succession planning advice and advisors --- *Source: [FarmAI Ireland](https://farmai.ie/read/furrow-whatsapp-farm-succession-tool-explained)*