The innovation awards at this year’s National Ploughing Championship will have to double in size to give the shortlisted applicants the opportunity to display their inventions and concepts to the agricultural industry and visitors this year.
Aside from having more applicants this year, the type of product applications is also much wider – from information technology to safety on farms and some larger scale manufacturing projects. Anna Marie McHugh of the National Ploughing Association commented having seen the applications for this year “There is no doubt that the creative and entrepreneurial spark in Ireland is alive and well. The National Ploughing Association is delighted to deliver this opportunity to help innovation develop in Ireland, in association with our partners in Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Farmers Journal.”
There will be also two new categories added this year with a junior award for under 18s and a student award. The sting in the tail for the winners in each category is the Innovation Panel. This year to be given the overall innovation title, each finalist must pitch there concept to the panel, who will submit their results to the overall judges. The panel will be made up of some of the top business people in Ireland. Their identities will not be revealed until they take their seats in the panel.
Commenting on this development in the competition, Denis Duggan from Enterprise Ireland said: “It will give the finalists a chance to get feedback from leading industry experts on their innovation and develop their ideas more.”
A full list of the shortlisted applicants will shortly be published in the Irish Farmers Journal.
The overall winner of the 2014 Innovation Arena Award was The Falcon Forwarder, the only Irish-made forestry forwarder, built by Marcia Franklin, Oldcastle, Co Meath.
Marcia said the support and advice given by Enterprise Ireland has helped to promote the brand across Europe. Enquiries from the Nordic countries arrive on a weekly basis. The Irish Farmers Journal machinery team will review the machine in the next month.
The innovation awards at the Ploughing last year provided the launching pad for many ideas and products. Last year’s category award winners were:
Slurrysafe – Safety Award Winner.Dairymaster – Animal Health Award winner in established company category.BovAlert (DIT Hothouse) – Animal Health Award winner in startup company category.Falcon Forwarder – Agri-Engineering Award winner in startup company category.Denis Doyle Engineering – Agri-Engineering Award winner in established company category.Herdwatch – Software Award winner in established company category.Farmflo – Software Award winner in startup category.Emarts Daily – promoted by Marie Costello was named Young Innovator.This year, the prize fund has been increased by €15,000 to €65,000, showing a clear commitment from Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Farmers Journal and the NPA to innovation in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has also secured further funding for some of the category winners, with a good business plan and a willingness to succeed.
Justin McCarthy, editor and chief executive of the Irish Farmers Journal added that he and his team are delighted to support homegrown talent. He said: “Innovation is the key to securing the future of any business and agriculture is no different in this regard. We must continue to be innovative in how we use the latest technology to reduce labour, increase productivity, and develop market share in an increasingly competitive global market.”
The innovation awards at this year’s National Ploughing Championship will have to double in size to give the shortlisted applicants the opportunity to display their inventions and concepts to the agricultural industry and visitors this year.
Aside from having more applicants this year, the type of product applications is also much wider – from information technology to safety on farms and some larger scale manufacturing projects. Anna Marie McHugh of the National Ploughing Association commented having seen the applications for this year “There is no doubt that the creative and entrepreneurial spark in Ireland is alive and well. The National Ploughing Association is delighted to deliver this opportunity to help innovation develop in Ireland, in association with our partners in Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Farmers Journal.”
There will be also two new categories added this year with a junior award for under 18s and a student award. The sting in the tail for the winners in each category is the Innovation Panel. This year to be given the overall innovation title, each finalist must pitch there concept to the panel, who will submit their results to the overall judges. The panel will be made up of some of the top business people in Ireland. Their identities will not be revealed until they take their seats in the panel.
Commenting on this development in the competition, Denis Duggan from Enterprise Ireland said: “It will give the finalists a chance to get feedback from leading industry experts on their innovation and develop their ideas more.”
A full list of the shortlisted applicants will shortly be published in the Irish Farmers Journal.
The overall winner of the 2014 Innovation Arena Award was The Falcon Forwarder, the only Irish-made forestry forwarder, built by Marcia Franklin, Oldcastle, Co Meath.
Marcia said the support and advice given by Enterprise Ireland has helped to promote the brand across Europe. Enquiries from the Nordic countries arrive on a weekly basis. The Irish Farmers Journal machinery team will review the machine in the next month.
The innovation awards at the Ploughing last year provided the launching pad for many ideas and products. Last year’s category award winners were:
Slurrysafe – Safety Award Winner.Dairymaster – Animal Health Award winner in established company category.BovAlert (DIT Hothouse) – Animal Health Award winner in startup company category.Falcon Forwarder – Agri-Engineering Award winner in startup company category.Denis Doyle Engineering – Agri-Engineering Award winner in established company category.Herdwatch – Software Award winner in established company category.Farmflo – Software Award winner in startup category.Emarts Daily – promoted by Marie Costello was named Young Innovator.This year, the prize fund has been increased by €15,000 to €65,000, showing a clear commitment from Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Farmers Journal and the NPA to innovation in Ireland. Enterprise Ireland has also secured further funding for some of the category winners, with a good business plan and a willingness to succeed.
Justin McCarthy, editor and chief executive of the Irish Farmers Journal added that he and his team are delighted to support homegrown talent. He said: “Innovation is the key to securing the future of any business and agriculture is no different in this regard. We must continue to be innovative in how we use the latest technology to reduce labour, increase productivity, and develop market share in an increasingly competitive global market.”
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