Tech innovator wins National Women in Agriculture award

Caroline Wellon, co-founder of O2 Agri based near Whitchurch, has been recognised with the Innovation Award at the Women in Agriculture Awards for her work in developing a nanobubble water treatment system for the poultry industry.

Mrs Wellon said: "We started out by building a machine to disinfect the inside of broiler houses to reduce the need for harsh chemicals like formaldehyde.

"But through research, we discovered that if we oxygenated the drinking water for the chickens, the benefits were massive.

"We started with a trial in 2022 and since then we have scaled up and we are commercially viable with more than 50 million birds having drunk our water."

The O2 Agri system increases dissolved oxygen levels in poultry drinking water.

This improves oxygen delivery to tissues, supports immune response, reduces biofilm formation and helps lower flock losses and rejection rates.

The patent-pending technology offers a data-backed, reduced-chemical alternative to conventional disinfection and antibiotic-dependent practices within the poultry industry.

Reflecting on the journey, Mrs Wellon said: "Over the last couple of years, I've driven this initiative from early-stage research through to real-world implementation on commercial farms."

She added: "I am proud to contribute to the modernisation of poultry production, while supporting sustainable farming and strengthening the role of women in agricultural innovation."

Caroline and O2 Agri have previously been recognised as finalists in both the National Egg and Poultry Awards and the British Farming Awards.

Mrs Wellon has also travelled to Australia three times in the past year as part of two Innovate UK programmes.

The first, the Global Incubator Programme, helped her secure a trial in principle with the University of Queensland through two in-country visits.

The second, the Global Explorers Programme, was a two-week visit to Brisbane, where she met with poultry producers and industry stakeholders to further expand her knowledge of the sector and explore opportunities in Australia.

The Women in Agriculture Awards recognise women driving meaningful change and innovation across the agricultural sector.

Now in its third year, the awards recognise women driving meaningful change and innovation across the agricultural sector.