Recyclable fenceposts and a solar-powered trough cleaner are among new inventions recognised at the annual agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek.
The Innovation Awards celebrate new ideas and inventions which help the primary industry sector.
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Judges said the quality of entrants this year was very high, which made it difficult for them to make their decisions.
They said they were impressed by the breadth of talent and the number of young innovators involved, saying the future of agricultural innovation looked stronger than ever.
Fieldays 2019 Innovation Award winners
Fieldays Grassroots Prototype Award - PICMI
PICMI removes the need for paperwork when hiring staff. The platform enables employers to personalise and manage their on-boarding process saving time and money whilst acting as an intermediary between employee and employer.
PICMI was the star of the show, receiving three awards. It was inspired by founder Genevieve Griffin-George's problems finding seasonal workers.
Fieldays Grassroots Established Award - Imaginus Ltd
Imaginus Ltd's animal health innovation involves a unique prototype design for a packaging and delivery system for intramammary dry cow treatments and teat sealants. It focused on environmental sustainability and the reduction of plastic packaging (compared to traditional alternatives) and reduction of labour and costs the key benefits.
Imaginus utilised its knowledge in a variety of industries to develop a faster, safer and more environmentally friendly solution to an important dairy task.
Fieldays Launch NZ Award - Future Post
Future Post has invented an environmentally friendly fence post made from 100 percent recycled plastics; its innovation boasts a stronger build with more durability than traditional fence post designs.
Judges said this product provides a way for farmers to participate in addressing what is a massive environmental problem for New Zealand. This is a positive and potential game-changing step towards dealing with New Zealand's plastic recycling challenge.
Fieldays Innovations Partners Awards
- Young Innovator of the Year - St Paul's Collegiate School with 'Bobble Trough'. Judges said they were impressed with their development process, their use of external expertise, their understanding of IP and of course their solution
- Vodafone Innovation Technology Award - PICMI
- AWS Innovation in Data - Riverwatch
- Sprout Global Growth Award - Matrex(r) Blockchain
- James & Wells Innovation Award - PICMI
Gait International Award for Product Design and Scalability - Modusense Ltd
- Callaghan Innovation Partnership and Collaboration Award - Aepea
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