VERY SUCCESSFUL EVENT

Southerly blasts bringing bursts of hail and rain failed to deter over 7,000 visitors to the South Island Agricultural Field Days on its opening day on Wednesday, March 29th. The weather improved for the next two days of the event, with thousands of people attending to see what this fantastic event had to offer. A first day highlight was the awards ceremony for the Field Days Agricultural Innovation Awards.

This year’s Supreme Award went to the EcoPond system from Ravensdown. The joint Lincoln University-Ravensdown developed technology is a treatment system capable of removing almost all methane emitted from dairy farm effluent ponds, and is now on the market as an emerging mitigation technology.

Estimates are that if all dairy farms adopted the technology the sector’s total farm methane emissions could be reduced by 4

-5%.

Ravensdown received $2,500 prize money, while the runner up was another Canterbury based innovation, the Ruts Plus Pivot Rut Filler. Developed to help farmers remediate centre pivot ruts, the innovative design utilises the soil in situ and does not require new material to be bought onto the farm. The expansive demonstration site fired up with multiple machines demonstrating the latest in cropping and harvesting technology, providing visitors with the opportunity to field trial them in real time.

“We have worked hard to make sure the demonstration site provided some real interest to visiting farmers and contractors. We encouraged them to see the range of gear and applications that were on offer, including the planted maize crop that highlighted three different drill types, including a strip till drill,” commented Chairman Hayden Dorman

This year’s Field Days also included an offer by ACE Homes to put a movable home up for auction, with proceeds going to the Rural Support Trust.

Prize winners:

Agri-Innovation Award:

Winner: Ravensdown Ventures: EcoPond

Runner up: Rutz Plus - pivot rut filler

Best site Awards:

Best Small Site: Lammermoor Distillery

Best Large Site: CLAAS Harvest Centre

Best Overall site and winner of the Hamish Reid Memorial Trophy: CLAAS Harvest Centre

Best Demonstration: Best Cultivation and Drilling Demonstration: Norwood Farm Machinery

Best Harvesting Demonstration: Power Farming

Best Overall Demonstration and winner of the Phillip van de Klundert Memorial Trophy: CLAAS Harvest Centre.

For further details visit: www.siafd.co.nz