Forward thinking technologies which could prove game-changing for agriculture will be up for scrutiny in this year’s Product Innovation Award, with 11 products making the shortlist.
The difficult task of judging will be over to Borders’ farmer, John Elliot jnr; Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland CEO, Alan Laidlaw; and Ken Fletcher, editor of The Scottish Farmer, to assess the products and reveal their winner during AgriScot.
Past winner of the award in 2021 was Nofence Grazing Technology’s GPS-controlled head collars for cattle, sheep and goats, which allow users to digitally set grazing areas, with an audible signal acting as a the first ‘fence’ and a small electric pulse as the final deterrent to keep them within those boundaries.
The entries for the 2022 AgriScot Product Innovation Award are as follows:
FeedAlert Silo Monitoring
From: E Collinson & Company, stand no: 133Contact Name: Sally Hayton
Web: https://www.feedalert.co.uk/
Retail price: £450
Product launch date: 14/03/2022
FeedAlert silo monitoring solves an age-old industry problem of not knowing how much feed is in the silo and being able to manage it effectively to maximise efficiencies.
This low cost system provides reliable intelligence to the user and/or their feed producer which not only aids management but is a huge industry leap enabling enormous efficiencies for feed production and logistics, importantly reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint.
DairyFeed F4500
From: GEA Farm Technologies UK Ltd, stand no: 117
Contact: Simon Redfern
Web: https://www.gea.com/en/dairy-farming/index.jsp
Retail price: £150000.00
Product launch date: 28/06/2022
Consisting of a self-driving robot equipped with a feed kitchen, F4500 is capable of operating indoors and out, as well as adapting to a variety of farm layouts. With its sensors, it can measure several feeding parameters. Connected to GEA herd management and system monitoring, it provides real-time machine information and feeding performance. A sustainable, connected and reliable feeding system.
Flockwatch
From: Herdwatch, stand no: 16
Contact: Diarmaid O Connor
Web: https://flockwatch.com/
Retail price: £179
Product launch date: 01/03/2022
The new Flockwatch service, which has seen Herdwatch invest over €500,000 in the future of sheep farming to date, will help sheep farmers get their flock in their hand allowing them to manage flock performance and make more informed decisions.
UK farmers now have a new tool to increase flock profitability and say goodbye to farm paperwork with Flockwatch. Flockwatch is the latest addition to the Herdwatch app that will help sheep farmers make better decisions and take control of their farm compliance paperwork.
John Deere 6R185
From: John Deere Ltd, stand no: 188
Contact: Chris Wiltshire
Web: https://www.deere.co.uk/en/tractors/mid/6r-series/6r185/
Retail price: 194885.00
Product launch date: 15/11/2021
The new 6R 185 is aimed at farmers and contractors looking for a compact, versatile and powerful tractor to be used mainly for transport, but also capable of handling demanding hydraulic power requirements. It delivers up to 234hp maximum power in transport, PTO and hydraulic applications. The 6R 185 is also an agile tractor, due to its short wheelbase of just 2.76m, this feature, combined with the proven 6.8-litre JD engine and highly efficient AutoPower transmission, makes this tractor particularly fuel efficient on the road.
Herd Improvement Tool
From: Livestock Improvement, stand no: 33
Contact: Claire Hunter
Web: https://uklic.co.uk/
Retail price:
Product launch date: 02/09/2019
The Herd Improvement Tool is a service offered to farmers to analyse their milk recording and farm data to produce a report that ranks the cows within the herd for the most to the least profitable based on production, health, efficiency and fertility. This allows farmers to make quality decisions around which animals they should be breeding their replacement animals from to drive herd improvement and farm profitability. The tool is available to all farmers that fully milk record and is offered at no charge.
SiloSpi
From: McAree Engineering + Lvlogics Ltd, stand no: 202
Contact: Barry Finnegan
Web: https://vmacsilos.ie/
Retail price: £900.00
Product launch date: 10/05/2022
SiloSpi is a low-cost, IOT-connected, silo-level monitoring system. Silos are used in agriculture, and across various industries to hold raw materials such as animal feed, plastic chips, biomass, cement, wood pellet and other such goods. The Lvlogics system essentially provides online levels of materials in these silos to users and suppliers who deliver to these silos. These levels are provided to end users via very convenient online platform and our unique phone app.
McHale Fusion 4 Plus
From: McHale, stand no: 176
Contact: Eoin Clarke
Web: www.mchale.net
Retail price: £92696.00
Product launch date: 20/09/2022
The new McHale Fusion 4 Range of Integrated Baler Wrappers comprise of the McHale Fusion 4, the McHale Fusion 4 Pro and the McHale Fusion 4 Plus with film binding technology – operator comfort and friendliness were at the forefront of the machine’s development. All machines in the Fusion 4 range deliver a number of new features with the higher end Fusion 4 Pro and Fusion 4 Plus being ISOBUS compatible allowing the operator to experience the highest level of customisation and machine performance.
QUICKBLOCK
From: QUICKBLOCK, stand no: 212
Contact: Rachel Paterson
Web: https://www.quickblock.uk/
Retail price: £10.00
Product launch date: 24/02/2016
QUICKBLOCK can be used to create temporary or semi-permanent/permanent structures for outdoor and indoor use and has been manufactured to withstand tough and extreme weather conditions. The blocks are flat-packed meaning that when they are disassembled, they can be easily stored in sheds/barns. Alternatively, they can be transformed into an entirely different use. QUICKBLOCK is made from 100% recycled polypropylene making it a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials. The blocks are hollow meaning that they can be infilled for additional strength and stability.
smaXtec health system
From: smaXtec Limited, stand no: 108
Contact: Leslie Steiner
Web: https://www.smaxtec.com/
Retail price:
Product launch date: 04/05/2022
The smaXtec health system helps farmers in early disease detection and optimisation of reproduction and feeding. The unique smaXtec bolus collects important health data directly in the cows’ reticulum. With smaXtec, farmers can detect and treat diseases at an early stage; and achieve shorter and less severe disease progressions and reduce antibiotic usage.
The latest innovative feature makes it even easier for farmers to spot cows who need their attention: Alerts are now categorized by disease severity.
SKAi (SoilEssentials KORE Artificial Intelligence) platform
From: SoilEssentials Ltd, stand no: 166
Contact: Gregor Welsh
Web: https://www.soilessentials.com/product/skai-retrainable-camera-system/
Retail price:
Product launch date: 20/06/2022
SKAi is a re-trainable smart camera solution for agriculture. Globally 80-95% of pesticides applied do not reach their target, because they are sprayed or spread across entire agricultural fields. SKAi field trials have shown a 77% saving in chemical use compared to blanket treatment. Features include: Recognising and mapping any target with the SKAi web-based artificial intelligence camera system; training SKAi to detect and treat your problem and detecting and spot spraying individual weeds and Plants. SKAi integrates with existing GPS and sprayer systems.
Shifttronic 2-speed Compact
From: TRIOLIET BV, stand no: 146
Contact: Jeroen Meijerink
Web: https://www.trioliet.com
Retail price: £7500.00
Product launch date: 16/11/2022
The Shifttronic 2-speed Compact is a powershift for smaller diet feeders with capacities of 8 to 24 m3. When loaded, the reduction gearbox shifts up or down automatically based on the weight inside the diet feeder. The Shifttronic will shift down a gear automatically during loading when the desired weight is reached or mixing becomes too difficult. Automatic and timely shifting protects the tractor and mixer wagon drive lines and can save up to 30% on fuel. Easy to set up using the smartphone app.
