Innovations & where tomorrows answers come from
Thursday 11 June 2009, 4:23PM
By NZ National Agricultural Fieldays
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The Innovation centre at the 2009 Fieldays has attracted 68 entries in the six categories, all vying for the ultimate Innovation award, The Golden Standard. The awards were presented this morning at a breakfast function on site at Fieldays.
The Innovation Centre at Fieldays is powered by the University of Waikato. Guest speaker, Chancellor of the University of Waikato, Rt Hon Jim Bolger, spoke on the value of innovation and the need for an open mind when faced with the ‘big’ innovations of the century, and remarked “Innovation is without value if it is still in the back shed” .
Fieldays is proud to acknowledge the sponsorship of these awards from the University of Waikato, Straight Furrow and James and Wells Intellectual Property, and is excited by the number and variety of entries this year. Fieldays Innovations organiser Lianne Dunbar said “Innovation entries this year have been outstanding in both volume and quality.”
The Golden Standard was won by students James Blanchet & Andrew Begg with their invention the Ezzy-K. The Ezzy K is a K line mover that is an efficient and effective time saver. It allows the operator to drive up to the K line attachment point, connect to it and move it to a new location, then disconnect it without getting off the ATV. The judges felt a lot of time had gone into this invention which speeds up the operation of moving K Line for irrigation.
Other results include:
The Young Inventor was awarded to Sacha Rennie, for the Safe T Halter. This horse safety halter that has a Velcro release mechanism which allows it to pull free from the horse if it gets caught on something.
The Invention Merit award was won by Robert Best for his Kick Gate Hinge, an adjustable hinge which lifts the end of a steel gate to clear higher ground. This will allow the user to open a gate up hill as the gate to ground clearance increases as the gate opens. The judges felt this innovation was beautiful in its simplicity.
In recognition of the Premier Feature ‘My Land, Our Environment’, special 2009 category the Environmental Award, was won by Lindsay Lewis, for his Clean Green Effluent System. This low application, fully automated environmental effluent system, distributes the effluent evenly over a paddock thus reducing the environmental impact. The Judges felt this system had a big positive impact on the environment without costing more.
Equipment Entry of the Year award was won by Zee Tags, who have modified the system of sheep tagging, speeding up the process by three or four times.
Equipment Merit Award, was won by Peter Gwilliam with his Cow Lifter, which will lift cows without the use of tractor and safely transport them anywhere on the dairy farm.