Fieldays Innovation Awards participants a step closer to a win

13/05/2024

63 Ideas Compete – Fieldays Innovation Awards participants a step closer to a win

The participants for the 2024 Fieldays Innovation Awards have been announced across three categories. 63 participants have made it to the next stage of judging, and a step closer to a share of a total prize package of cash, services, and products worth more than $70,000 to help launch or accelerate their new product.

Showcased at the Fieldays 2024 Innovation Hub, the Awards are the ultimate launch platform for primary innovation in New Zealand and a globally renowned awards programme. Judged by a panel of 15 sector experts who represent a wide range of experience from around the NZ innovation eco-system, this year's Awards promise to showcase some of the most innovative ideas and technologies in line to launch into the agricultural industry.

"This year we had the most entries we’ve had in the last 10 years," says Fieldays Programme Manager Steve Chappell. "It’s superb to see so many great entries of such a high calibre again, and in the Award’s 56th year, it really is inspiring to see. I’m really impressed with the ideas coming through this year, and I’m sure the visitors and investors will be too.” Entries ranged from something as modest in size as a wool plaster, to something as large as an autonomous grapevine pruner, coming from Hamilton to as far away as Ireland.

There are 27 participants in the Prototype category, 21 in the Early-Stage category and 15 in the Growth & Scale Category. Five participants are also in the running for the Young Innovator of the Year award for entrants 19 years old and under.

The 2024 Awards sees the introduction of a new judging process, with first round judging happening currently, and a short-list of finalists in each category due to be announced soon. Those finalists will participate in both an online judging pre-event, and onsite judging at Fieldays.

“This year, we're also adding a special twist to our Innovation Awards: A People's Choice Award” says Chappell. “All participants are in the running for this award. The innovator with the most votes will take home $2,000 cash prize from Fieldays, while one lucky voter will win a voucher for $500! Visitors can vote by tapping their Fieldays Smart Band at the kiosk located inside the Fieldays Innovation Hub during the event.

The participants' innovations can be viewed at the Fieldays Innovation Hub at Mystery Creek, Hamilton between 12 – 15 June. Additionally, the Fieldays Innovation Trail layer can be turned on in the Fieldays App to explore Innovation Awards entries at the exhibitor’s sites. For more information visit www.fieldays.co.nz.

"We are so thankful to our sponsors - AWS, Sprout Agritech, NZME, Gait International, King Street Advertising, and Blender Design for continuing to support the Fieldays Innovation Awards and promote the groundbreaking work coming out of this country,” said Chappell.

Participants in their award categories are:

Prototype:

800 Trust – Hark, AI low-power environmental monitoring in extremely remote areas. Stratford
CM Safety Ltd - "HOOD" Head On Object Deflector, Operator protection and awareness structure to safely encapsulate operators from a wide range of foreign objects. Te Puke
Cowbrella - a portable shade structure that can be easily moved to provide shade exactly where you require it. Hamilton
Daisy Lab, producing dairy-identical proteins using yeast and fermentation process. Auckland
Eco Electric TreeGuards by Ratapiko Dorpers - Robust fencing protection for palatable trees. Inglewood
Farmilise - a website that connects farmers with local contractors. Pukekohe
Fleecegrow - A sheep's wool growing media for commercial indoor growers. Auckland
Iona College – Wool Be Studying*, A space of quiet focus when studying, made from NZ raw materials. Havelock North
Kiwi-Econet - an edible bale net that is environmentally friendly, and better for the animals. Riverton
Lebendwasser Limited – V150 Vortex Effluent Stirrer, using the power of the vortex implosive centripetal movement and power to stir effluent ponds. Cambridge
Miles Better Engineering – Rubber Mate, a cleaning tool for the removal of milk fat, Taupiri
Skilplane – an aircraft training vehicle that keeps you firmly on the ground. Tokoroa
SPS Automation - Autonomous spraying of new forestry blocks through UAV. Christchurch
St Paul’s Collegiate School – Clean Milk Catcher* to efficiently and contamination-free collect a milk sample. Hamilton
St Paul’s Collegiate School – Kiwi Beam Solutions* to lift fallen ag beams in kiwifruit orchards, Hamilton
St Peter’s, Cambridge – Ag Recruit* for NZ contractors employing international seasonal staff, Cambridge
Strainrite Fencing Systems - DuraShield, an insulated wire strainer. Upper Hutt
Stockies - an online livestock trading toolset for farmers and livestock agents. New Plymouth
The Experiment Company Ltd - DiffuZone Imaging, a diagnostic tool to measure glycoproteins and antibacterial activity in honey. Taupō
Udderwash - Chemical free udder wash solution. Te Puke
United Fisheries Ltd - Liquified Fish Bone to use in the Agriculture industry as Calcium and phosphorus spray. Christchurch
University of Waikato School of Engineering – Archie Jr. a robotic system for autonomously pruning grapevines. Hamilton
University of Waikato School of Engineering - Blueberry Shaker and Catcher for human-assisted selective harvesting. Hamilton
University of Waikato School of Engineering - Low-cost Navigation for autonomous automation equipment. Hamilton
WD Townsend – Trough Vac, a compact mobile vacuum tank and pressure washer unit. Katikati
Winter Berries - Vertical farming technology for year-round berries. Hawke’s Bay
XCA – TOW – An excavator attachment to conveniently tow conventional trailers, Auckland

Early-Stage:

Agilis Vets – UBAC, a vaccine for Strep uberis that is the major cause of mastitis in NZ dairy industry. Timaru
Agovor - Spray saver & GOVOR®️, an autonomous mini tractor, equipped with a sprayer for agricultural efficiency. Auckland
Agri Data Analytics - The Bovine Breathalyser, a device that non-invasively measures enteric GHG emissions from ruminant animals. Offaly, Ireland
AgriSea & Fert Co – SeaPhos, a new farming granular fertiliser containing Dicalcic phosphate and Marine biostimulants. Paeroa & Te Awamutu
BA Pumps & Sprayers - LM series linkage sprayer, a large spray unit with safe chemical loading and 12m fully hydraulic wing lift boom. Hamilton
Eazy Stay - a portable electric fence strainer post that enables farmers to move fences and split paddocks in less time with reduced effort. Toowoomba, Australia
Envico - a technology ecosystem that amplifies conservation efforts, enabling greater outcomes for every dollar spent. Tauranga
Fert Finda - an online fertiliser marketplace for farmers to find often hard-to-find nutrient products. Taranaki
Floating Peaks - Wool Pole Protector, Protection for poplar and willow poles made completely out of NZ strong wool. Hawke’s Bay
Garto - a young tree protector, to reduce competing plant and pest pressures, and supply water and shelter. Christchurch
IIF - a world-first approach to agricultural investment that brings farmers and consumers closer together. Mansfield, Australia
Jobloads BETA, a job management platform that helps seasonal businesses works together. Gisborne
KiwiFibre - Harakeke composite materials for high-performance applications. Christchurch
Landkind - Sunforest Integration, optimises kiwifruit maturity testing. Tauranga
Livestock Visibility Solutions – Flow, an AI-managed backing gate movement control system. Christchurch
NZ Auto Traps - AT520-AI, a solar-powered, automatic resetting and rebaiting kill trap that uses onboard artificial intelligence. Whakatane
SoleTech – Dehorner, a tool that attaches to a drill to make dehorning easier, faster and safer. Tauranga
St Peter’s, Cambridge – Mark-It*, a drench gun attachment to identify sheep that have been drenched. Cambridge
StrongBo - a device to weigh cattle in paddock, using a front foot-only weigh platform. Dublin, Ireland
Vertex Engineers – UVEX, an automated disinfection method that uses UV-C light to treat diseases on berry, vine, and tree crops. Hamilton
Water Siphon - empowers farmers and growers to manage their groundwater levels using advanced siphoning technology. Auckland

Growth & Scale:

Bainbridge Chook Tower Feeder, Drinker & Automatic Drinker - with a wide range of mounting options to suit any coop or free range property. Luscombe, Australia
Connected Farms - CommsXtend - a portable on-vehicle, over the farm, Wi-Fi solution. Woodend
Dairy Smart - Jupiter diagnostic machine accurately diagnoses bacteria on unique milk culture plate. Rangiora
Fleetpin – Safetrax - a comprehensive roll warning and critical alerting system, comprising both hardware and software. Christchurch
Halter - Virtual fencing that helps dairy and beef farmers grow and harvest more grass, while caring for animals and the environment. Auckland
Hemprino - a unique blend of merino wool and hemp fibre suitable for high-end, luxury knitwear apparel. Hokitika
MSD Animal Health – SenseHub®️ Dairy – a swing-over Herringbone Entrance ID that automatically matches MilkPlus and SCC in-line sensor results to each cow. Hamilton.
MSD Animal Health - Flexolt®️ - an oral lice treatment for sheep with any length of wool. Upper Hutt
Perkinz - ShearMaster - an innovative new concept in shearing that eliminates the catch and drag. Alexandra
Redpath Pacific Ltd - Quick Build Shadehouse - A speedy to build steel framed shadehouse for growing NZ Native plants/trees and other crops. Palmerston North
Resolution Farming App - the farming app that brings people, information, and technology together on one easy-to-use, fully-featured digital platform. Gore
Robotics Plus – Prospr - an autonomous, multi-use, hybrid vehicle designed to carry out a variety of orchard and vineyard crop tasks. Tauranga
Te Pari Products - Taurus Hydraulic is the world-first fully automatic Cattle Crush including Auto Headbail Catch and other features. Oamaru
SmaXtec - TruAdvice™️ - AI early disease indication and the precise identification of suspected mastitis cases. Tauranga
WoolAid - a hyperfine merino wool plaster that allows your wound to breathe, and the fabric of the plaster biodegrades in approximately 4 months. Auckland