Can Co-Farm change the relationship between the farmer and the food retailer? Tommy Heffernan says farmers are adopting to digital solutions to save time, and to make money.
Tommy Heffernan isn’t what you’d call a typical Irish vet. As well as running a practice in Avondale, Co. Wicklow, he has co-launched Co-Farm, a networking website for farmers that he hopes will revolutionise the way they do business.
“Farmers are flocking towards social media,” says Heffernan. “Smartphones have changed everything. Sites like DoneDeal have made it quick and easy to find what you’re looking for. Previously, farmers would have to take a day away from the farm and visit various dealers. Now they just take out their phone and have instant access to a massive marketplace.”
Does this mean the stereotype of the traditional farmer being reluctant to change with the times and adapt new technologies is becoming redundant?
“Farmers will adapt to change where there’s an incentive, and in the case of going online, it comes down to two things; saving time and money”
A new frontier
Heffernan’s business partner Geoff Dooley is a farmer from Limerick. As is the case with many ideas, the light bulb moment came to the pair over a pint.
“We discussed the overload of technical information farmers have to try and digest from multiple sources, and the confusion this leads to,” explains Heffernan.
“We thought – wouldn’t it be great if there was a site where different stakeholders in the industry could log on, connect and get information direct from each other? That’s where the idea started.”
From there the idea grew from a kind of a LinkedIn for farmers to a full online food platform, linking not just farmers and agri-service providers, but also bringing together farm producers and consumers.
“We want to do for farming what AirBnB did for property rentals –
