# Ploughing 2026: the AI that won, and the questions it still has to answer *Published 2026-09-16 by FarmAI Ireland* Two of the four Innovation Arena awards at the 2026 National Ploughing Championships went to AI products for the vet, not the field. Telenostic took the Champion award for OvaCyte, an AI parasite test. VetPal took the €10,000 Start-Up of the Year for prescription software. Terra NutriTECH won Green Impact and MastiTrak, a student team, the first Young Innovator award. Here is what each does, what it does not yet say, and what to ask. ## Who won what Enterprise Ireland's Innovation Arena ran its pitches on Tuesday 15 September at Screggan. Twelve finalists, four awards. The results, as reported by the Roscommon People on the day: - **Innovation Arena Champion:** Telenostic, Kilkenny. OvaCyte, an AI-powered parasite egg count from a dung sample. - **Start-Up of the Year, €10,000:** VetPal Technology, Roscommon. A digital platform for veterinary prescriptions. - **Green Impact Award:** Terra NutriTECH, Kildare. CH4Guard, a methane-reducing supplement dosed through the water line. - **Young Innovator of the Year:** MastiTrak, a team of students from Munster Technological University. A new award this year. Our [Innovation Arena preview](/read/ploughing-2026-agritech-innovation-arena-preview) has the background on the competition. The other finalists on the floor, from the Irish Examiner's preview: Solnua (breeding data, Kildare), Slurryquip (a remote-controlled slurry pump, Down), WireLessCam (a portable farm camera, Monaghan), FURROW (Monaghan), RT Sales' Hitch Hero (a tractor stabilising frame, Kerry) and Alltech's Eminex. ## The pattern: diagnosis and paperwork, not the field Look at where the two headline awards landed. Neither product touches a paddock, a parlour or a tractor. OvaCyte replaces a lab job. A faecal egg count today means posting a sample or waiting for a vet's microscope. Telenostic says its large-animal version takes two minutes to prepare and about twenty minutes to a result, in the clinic. It has catalogued more than 21 million eggs, runs from an ISO 13485 facility and is VETQAS approved. Every one of those claims is the company's own. VetPal replaces a paper trail. Under the EU veterinary medicines rules, treatments that used to be over the counter now need a veterinary prescription, and the Department's National Veterinary Prescription System is the record. VetPal's own site describes an app where an animal owner books, asks for advice and picks a store to collect a prescription, and a portal where the vet prescribes and keeps the record. The Roscommon People reports that it connects to the Department system and that the company is adding AI tools to cut admin. Those two points are the newspaper's, not the website's. That is the story of this year's Arena. The money went to the two jobs that already sit on a desk: the diagnosis and the form. Both are things an Irish vet does every week, on a laptop, with a network connection. Neither depends on a sensor surviving a winter or a signal reaching the back field. ## What is not published yet FarmAI's rule for any tool is the same [five questions we published before the Ploughing](/read/ploughing-2026-ai-checklist-5-questions), and the winners have public answers to about half of them. **Who owns the data, and can it leave with you?** Not stated on either site. OvaCyte's egg counts are health records. VetPal holds prescription records. Ask. **What does it cost in year three?** Not published by Telenostic, VetPal or Terra NutriTECH. A Ploughing award is not a price list. Ask for the year-three number; a company that has one will give it. **Where is it working on an Irish farm?** Telenostic names UCD School of Veterinary Medicine and the Irish Equine Centre as partners but no named farm or trial result. VetPal names no customers or user numbers. Terra NutriTECH's site has a CH4Guard menu link and no product page behind it yet. **What happens when the signal drops?** For OvaCyte and VetPal, less than for most agri-tech: both run in the clinic or on a phone, not in the field. That is a genuine advantage and part of why they won. **Who fixes it at 2am in February?** Not stated by any of the four. None of that is a criticism. It is the gap between a pitch and a product, and it is normal for companies at this stage. It is also exactly what to ask before you sign anything. ## What it means for your farm If you run cattle or sheep, OvaCyte reaches you through your vet, not through a stand. Ask your practice whether they have it or plan to. A same-visit egg count changes dosing decisions, and dosing without a count is the habit that breeds resistance. The same logic applies to the [free calving and herd record apps](/read/best-free-calving-records-app-review) we compared: the tool is only as good as the record it feeds. If you buy animal remedies, VetPal or something like it will be the way your prescription moves from vet to merchant. The Department already requires the prescription. The app is the convenience layer. CH4Guard is the one to watch rather than buy. Terra NutriTECH's existing business is dosing minerals through the water supply, so the delivery route is proven. The methane claim is the part with no published evidence yet. ## Frequently asked questions **Who won the Innovation Arena at the Ploughing 2026?** Telenostic (Champion), VetPal Technology (Start-Up of the Year, €10,000), Terra NutriTECH (Green Impact) and MastiTrak (Young Innovator). Announced Tuesday 15 September 2026. **Is OvaCyte something a farmer can buy?** Telenostic describes it as a point-of-care system for veterinary clinics. Farmers get the result through their vet. No price is published. **Does VetPal work with the Department's prescription system?** The Roscommon People reports that it connects to the National Veterinary Prescription System. VetPal's own site does not say so. Ask the company directly before relying on it. --- ## Sources - [Enterprise Ireland — Innovation Arena 2026](https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/innovation-arena) — The award categories, the €10,000 Start-Up prize, and the Tuesday 15 September pitch - [Roscommon People — VetPal wins €10,000 Start-Up of the Year at Ploughing](https://roscommonpeople.ie/roscommons-vetpal-wins-e10000-start-up-of-the-year-award-at-ploughing/) — Names all four 2026 winners and describes VetPal's link to the National Veterinary Prescription System, 15 September 2026 - [Irish Examiner — The power of agricultural innovation on show at ploughing](https://www.irishexaminer.com/farming/arid-41910637.html) — The finalists, their counties and products, 14 September 2026 - [Telenostic — OvaCyte](https://www.telenostic.com/) — The company's own description of OvaCyte: sample type, time to result, accreditation - [VetPal](https://www.vetpal.ie/) — The company's own description of the app for animal owners, practices and vets - [DAFM — National Veterinary Prescription System](https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-agriculture-food-and-the-marine/services/national-veterinary-prescription-system/) — The Department system that VetPal is reported to connect to --- *Source: [FarmAI Ireland](https://farmai.ie/read/ploughing-2026-innovation-arena-winners-ai)*