Fieldays seeks agricultural innovators

Fieldays seeks agricultural innovators

The highly regarded Fieldays Innovation Competition is back after yet another ground breaking year which saw previous entrants finding fame and fortune.

The most innovative competition in the agricultural industry is now open for 2014 and organisers are urging inventors to enter their rural innovations in the distinguished competition held annually at Fieldays, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest agribusiness expo.

The competition celebrates New Zealand ingenuity by showcasing the latest innovations, backyard inventions and commercial improvements, with thousands of Fieldays visitors eager to view the latest rural advancements.

In 2013 the competition had 75 entrants, with many also taking the opportunity to enter and pitch to investors in the inaugural Fieldays Innovation Den powered by SODA Inc.

Winning innovators included:
· Patrick Roskam who, then aged 12years, won several awards for his Gudgeon Pro fencing system plus a personal invitation from Sir William Gallagher for an internship at Gallagher’s Research and Development department
· Droidworx (now called Aeronavics) won the Most Viable Business award for their aerial robot that is now receiving expressions of interest from all over the world
· And at just 13 years of age, Ayla Hutchinson was named Fieldays Young Inventor of the Year and also won the James & Wells IP Service Award with her Kindling Cracker innovation. Ayla has since taken her amazing product to market and gone on to win other awards including ‘Most Inspiring Individual’ at the NZ Innovator’s Awards and the ‘Rising Star Award’ at the BUY NZ Made People’s Choice Awards

Innovations have always been an integral aspect of Fieldays and each year the popular Fieldays Innovation Centre receives extensive media coverage as the world looks to New Zealand to lead innovation for the agriculture sector.

After the huge success of the competition in 2013, the centrally located Innovation Centre has grown in size and organisers are anticipating an increased number of entries to this widely recognised and popular competition.

With a range of categories in which to enter and a competition structure that supports kiwi ingenuity at all levels, the Fieldays Innovation Centre incorporates both commercial innovations and backyard creations and is the perfect place for new innovations to be launched.

As organisers of the competition, Fieldays are intent on supporting the entrants of the competition not only during the event but after the competition as well.

Last year Vodafone were welcomed as the Fieldays Innovation Partner for a period of three years. The telecommunication company is recognised as a leader in innovation across the globe, leading the way in New Zealand communication and developing new and innovative services for customers.
Vanessa Richmond, Fieldays Event Manager said, “Offering help and assistance for entrants is a major part of Fieldays Innovations. We are bringing partners onboard to help nurture relationships with entrants while fostering entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity.”
“Entrants also receive invaluable feedback from prospective customers visiting the Innovation Centre, and the potential to gain priceless media exposure of their innovation. It is then no wonder that the amount and standard of entries strengthens year after year,” she stated.

New to the Innovation Centre for 2014 is THE LAB - powered by Locus Research. THE LAB is an ideas booth where confirmed entrants will be able to access knowledge from the Locus Research Team and other Innovations Partners on how to progress their innovation.
Locus Research is also sponsoring one of the seven awards which will be presented to the most pioneering innovations. The Locus Research Innovation Award provides the winner with workshop sessions to the value of $20,000 to assist with business matters ranging from brand and marketing to technical, R&D and commercial, in order to help the winner’s business or idea reach fruition.
Locus Research’s Managing Director, Timothy Allan, said they were excited to be involved with the Fieldays Innovation Awards, “Last year was inspirational, and we are looking forward to seeing the many and varied creations that are driving growth in the agritech sector of New Zealand in 2014”.

Interested candidates are urged to enter their innovation today on the Fieldays website. All innovations are kept confidential until they are unveiled on the first day of Fieldays, 11 June 2014.

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