The teen entrepreneur transforming farm management

A teenager from County Down hopes an app he has developed will revolutionise how farms are run, giving hard-pressed farmers more time.

Ben O'Connor, 16, was inspired when his family's farm near Castlewellan moved from beef to a dairy operation.

That meant longer hours, strict routine and more tasks to schedule, all of which reduced the time his family had together.

The entrepreneur had previously developed a mail order gift business at the age of 13. After selling that last year, he turned his talents to managing farm tasks.

FarmFlow is now being trialled on several farms across the UK and Ireland. He hopes to roll out the app, which targets the farm paperwork burden, alongside his studies.

O'Connor noticed the impact on his father and brother when the family made the switch from beef to dairy farming two years ago.

"It is a lot different - it's rigid - you start milking in the morning, you have to milk in the evening. There's not as much flexibility," he said.

He also became more conscious of the paperwork and level of compliance involved in running a dairy operation.