Day one of the National Ploughing Championships saw the announcement of the 2015 Innovation Awards.
With a competition structure that supports Irish innovation and ingenuity at all levels, the Awards recognise and reward outstanding innovation in the agricultural sector.
This year’s competition attracted 170 entries – over double the number of entries submitted last year. 54 were shortlisted as 2015 finalists and invited to exhibit in the Innovation Arena.
Organised by Enterprise Ireland in cooperation with the National Ploughing Association and the Irish Farmers Journal, the Innovation Arena is the ideal place to showcase ground-breaking agri-related developments, whether they are backyard inventions or professional innovations, to the thousands of visitors the National Ploughing Championships attract each year.
The overall winner of the Innovation Arena Award is Dairymaster’s Swiftflo Commander.
The category Award winners are:
- Cross Agri Engineering – Agri Engineering Award winner in established company category
- Malone Engineering – Agri Engineering Special Merit Award winner in established company category
- Acres Machinery – Agri Engineering Award winner in start-up company category
- Reproinfo – Animal Health Award winner in established company category
- Hydrasure – Animal Health Award winner in start-up company category
- Remoquip – Safety Award winner in established company category
- Inspect 4 Hoof Trimming – Safety Award winner in start-up company category
- Dairymaster – Software Award winner in established company category
- DIT Hothouse – Software Award Special Merit winner in established company category
- True North Technologies – Software Award winner in start-up company category
- AgManor – Software Award Special Merit winner in start-up company category
Announcing the winners, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said: “The agri-food sector is of huge importance to the Irish economy and a key part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs. In the last four years we have seen major jobs growth across the sector.
To sustain and build on this growth we have put in place a range of measures to support more people to start and expand businesses in this area. The range and quality of innovations on display here in the Innovation Arena is hugely encouraging.
The calibre of the award winners is extremely high and bodes well for the future of the agri sector in Ireland. I warmly congratulate the winners of these Awards, and indeed all the companies exhibiting in the Innovation Arena, and wish them success for the future”.
The 2015 NPA Innovation Arena prize fund now totals over €65,000 in supports. The overall award winner received a top prize worth €15,000 from Enterprise Ireland and The Irish Farmers Journal.