Dairymaster’s Swiftflo Commander took the top gong at the Innovation Arena Awards at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co. Laois.
This year, the awards saw a total of 170 entries – more than double the number of entries submitted last year – with 54 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 category award winners are:
• Cross Agricultural 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.
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 which includes advertising and PR support, mentoring and a cash prize of €5,000. All finalists received €500 worth of www.toplink.ie advertising vouchers to promote their innovation through the Irish Farmers Journal.
Ian Bolger from Borris, Co. Carlow was announced as the Young Innovator by EU Agriculture & Rural Development Commissioner, Phil Hogan. Ian was recognised for his “Safe Attach”, a safety warning system for front-loader attachments on tractors. He was presented with the Young Innovator Travel Bursary to attend Agritechnica 2015 in Hanover, Germany.
Dr Edmond Harty, CEO of Dairymaster talks about Dairymaster’s Swiftflo Commander (video):
