Beyond the pilot: How Tenfold NetZero continues to shape agri-food innovation

Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and delivered by Digital Catapult in 2023/24, the Tenfold NetZero Accelerator Pilot Programme supported industry partners in Northern Ireland to tackle net zero and decarbonisation challenges using advanced technologies. By connecting innovative deep tech SMEs with established industry partners, Digital Catapult enabled the development, testing and validation of solutions that could improve sustainability in agriculture.

For agri-tech startup Soil Benchmark, it offered a rare opportunity to apply its nutrient management technology directly to the environmental and operational challenges facing farmers in Northern Ireland.

AgriSearch, Northern Ireland’s farmer-funded research and innovation body, joined the pilot programme with a clear challenge in mind: how to make existing soil datasets accessible to farmers making day-to-day nutrient management decisions. With support from Digital Catapult, AgriSearch partnered with Soil Benchmark to co-develop new data visualisation tools that could help farmers better understand where and when to apply organic manure, balancing productivity with environmental protection.

This collaboration exemplifies how Digital Catapult is able to facilitate strong working relationships between industry and innovators to address agriculture’s most pressing net zero challenges.

The Soil Nutrient Health Scheme (SNHS) is one of the most ambitious soil testing schemes in the world, sampling every agricultural field in Northern Ireland and mapping land with advanced technologies such as the remote sensing technique LiDAR. While this has produced a mountain of valuable data, the challenge for farmers has been accessibility as existing nutrient management tools are often too complex.

AgriSearch recognised that modern data visualisation could transform this information into intuitive maps and dashboards that farmers could use in the field. Soil Benchmark brought the technical expertise to make that happen. With guidance from Digital Catapult, the challenge was framed around creating simple, farmer-friendly tools that could display information such as slope risk or runoff potential on a mobile or tablet.

By enabling a deep tech SME to scale within a real-world environment, Digital Catapult helped transform raw data into practical digital solutions, while strengthening resilience across the agri-food supply chain.

Over a 12-week delivery phase, Soil Benchmark developed a proof of concept using data from six demonstration farms. The outputs included effective map visualisations of slope class and slurry quantity, alongside a 3D model showing the relationship between terrain and runoff risk. Importantly, these were accessible via mobile devices, helping farmers make practical decisions in the field.

Jason Rankin, Strategy Manager at AgriSearch, explained: “If you have a challenge or opportunity that you think digital technologies could help with but you are not sure how to go about it then Digital Catapult will help you take the next steps.”

Tom Scrope from Soil Benchmark added: “The light-touch approach from Digital Catapult, combined with AgriSearch supporting access to farms and data, meant we could focus entirely on developing the solution. It really kept the project practical and efficient.”

Digital Catapult’s structured yet flexible approach enabled rapid testing of innovative tools, demonstrating how data-driven and open networks can be applied to drive measurable change on farms.

The proof of concept met its objectives and has since been developed by Soil Benchmark into a commercial tool. The team believes this could be transformative for nutrient management across Northern Ireland, provided issues around access to government data can be resolved.

For Soil Benchmark, the programme offered the chance to validate and advance its nutrient management software in partnership with farmers and industry experts. “The short, focused timeframe really kept us on track,” noted Soil Benchmark. “It was the perfect competition for us — right in the sweet spot of what we wanted to develop.”

By creating market pathways for early-stage companies to work directly with challenge owners, Digital Catapult helps industry adopt advanced technologies that reduce emissions, improve resilience, and accelerate the transition to net zero.

AgriSearch is now developing new on-farm initiatives to help the ruminant livestock sector tackle both sustainability and productivity challenges. For Soil Benchmark, the proof of concept strengthened its broader product platform and set it up for further expansion.

The Tenfold NetZero pilot demonstrates how Digital Catapult equips partners with deep tech capabilities, enabling them to adopt innovative solutions that scale, strengthen supply chains, and advance the use of data-driven networks for the benefit of both farmers and the environment alike.