Innovation awards kick off
Calling all agricultural inventors and innovators, entries are now open for the 2018 National Agricultural Fieldays Innovation Awards.
The awards showcase innovation across several industry areas: dairy and drystock farming, horticulture, information and communication technology, cloud and mobile-based software, animal health and genetics, water and waste management, environment and clean-tech, animal and farm management, farm safety and leading research.
This year marks Fieldays’ 50th year of showcasing agriculture and innovation to rural and urban audiences.
The theme for this year is the Future of Farming, with visitors and exhibitors being encouraged to start discussions around what the future of farming means to them.
Fieldays Innovations event manager Gail Hendricks said they’re encouraging entries from small, grassroots innovations through to the larger, international innovations.
‘‘We love seeing how widespread our entries are, and have always encouraged the small, grassroots entries just as much as the bigger, more established ones,’’ said Hendricks.
‘‘Even though an entry might be ‘small’, it can still make a big impact.’’
Hendricks said the entries are housed in Fieldays’ popular Innovations Centre, with entrants able to access free advice from lawyers, patent and trademark attorneys, accountants and product development consultants.
She said Fieldays’ theme of the ‘‘Future of Farming’’ ties in perfectly with the forward-looking Innovation Awards.
For more information visit fieldays.co.nz