Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Farmers Journal’s www.Toplink.ie advertising website have joined forces with the National Ploughing Association this year to bring a new look and feel to the 2014 Ploughing Innovation Arena.

When launching the new-look arena in the Enterprise Ireland head office in June, a call went out to all innovators to submit their ideas for inclusion in the new larger display. There was a tremendous response to the appeal from across the country, with a wide range of new agri-related innovations.

This year the layout of the arena will change to include consultation booths and a forum centre. Enterprise Ireland will be providing staff to assist with general enquiries, the Patent’s Office will have a stand and Toplink.ie will be offering media campaign advice.

The best 30 innovations, from an initial entry of more than double that number, will be exhibited at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Stradbally, Co Laois, at Stand 326, Row 23.

The top innovator will receive a prize of €1,500 from Toplink.ie towards the costs of attending the British LAMMA Show, with their innovation, in January 2015. They will also receive valuable business development support mentoring from Enterprise Ireland and a free stand at the 2015 National Ploughing Championships.

All finalists will receive vouchers to promote their innovation on www.toplink.ie, bringing the overall value of the prize fund for the Awards to close to €50,000.

Enterprise Ireland: supporting agriculture

As the Government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets, Enterprise Ireland (EI) assists Irish companies to undertake research and development (R&D) and increase the amount of innovation in their business, through a mix of funding, advice and expertise.

Agriculture and food are major contributors to Ireland’s economy in terms of exports and employment, both directly and indirectly. A number of Irish-owned firms are among the top 50 largest food and beverage multinationals globally.

Ireland is also home to leading agri-tech companies which have taken the skills honed in Irish agriculture to world markets. “Agriculture and food are special sectors and go right to the core of who we are as a nation,” said EI chief executive Julie Sinnamon.

Since the beginning of 2013, Enterprise Ireland has invested over €100m directly in the food processing industry. This has leveraged an additional €800m of investment in the sector with the potential to create thousands of jobs in Ireland.

Julie said Enterprise Ireland is focusing on driving innovation, building competitiveness and strengthening the leadership teams of the future.

Enterprise Ireland supports include initiatives to assist start-ups, sourcing and licensing of new technologies, opportunities to collaborate with other companies and research institutes, the fostering of leadership skills, and access to EU research funding. In addition to supporting in-company research, development and innovation, Enterprise Ireland’s investment in the broader eco-system, for example in the collaborative Food for Health Ireland Technology Centre and in the new Dairy Processing Technology Centre, continues to position Ireland at the forefront of food research globally.

There is evidence on the ground that Ireland has what it takes to compete globally in agri-food research and innovation. Kerry Group’s Global Technology Innovation Centre in Naas, for example, supported by Enterprise Ireland, is an example of a fully integrated R&D centre, and the single largest investment in food innovation ever undertaken. The high-end work taking place at centres such as Teagasc’s Animal and Grassland Research and Food Research programmes at Moorepark and Ashtown also showcases the capabilities of Irish research. However, challenges remain before Ireland can earn its reputation as a really serious player globally. When it comes to in-company innovation, there is scope for Irish companies to expand their activities.

“R&D is a key pillar of EI support for companies,” Julie says. “We want to see a greater take-up and focus on research and development within the agri-food industry in Ireland. Internationally, we’re lagging behind when we compare what individual companies spend on in-house R&D.”

Fascinating array of new innovations for Ploughing 2014

The range of entries for the Ploughing 2014 Innovation Awards supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Farmers Journal’s www.Toplink.ie advertising website has been very interesting. The Innovation Arena will provide visitors with a fascinating insight into the level of new product development that is taking place on Irish farms and in small Irish agri-business companies.

We have listed all of the entries for the Innovation Arena on page 46 and here and on the following pages we look more closely at just some of the new ideas emerging, with more to follow next week in our special 96-page Ploughing supplement. They are the result of hours of development work by farmers, engineers and technology innovators, to bring solutions to farms that are more efficient, safer and more cost-effective.