Manitoba Ag Days’ innovation awards can give a company with a great new product a real boost in the marketplace.
Just ask Steve Rogoschewsky. His Adaptive Agriculture Solutions of Saskatoon has won an award in the competition twice.
“It helped us launch our company, with some of the natural marketing that comes out of these shows, and gave us the exposure to keep building the company and expanding it out,” he said.
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The Binstick won the ag tech category for the Innovation Showcase in 2021.
The Binstick is an add-on sensor used by customers who don’t have bin cables in their bin to complete the feedback loop for information about what’s going on in the bin, and grain conditioning.
The company then introduced a piece of equipment that was a transition from an analog grain drying system to a Wi-Fi bin monitor that uses the “Internet of Things” or IoT. That product won first place for ag tech in the Innovation Showcase in 2023.
“It puts everything on your computer, so you can see it on your phone, computer, iPad and whatnot. It’s basically a computer in a box that you put in the bin,” said Rogoschewsky.
It can be used for in-bin monitoring, fan control and supplemental heating. Since winning the award, Adaptive Agriculture has continued to develop their Wi-Fi bin monitor into one box that controls many things.
“We’re selling one box that kind of rules them all, and it’s got ports to accept an input for your in-bin grain cable or our Binstick,” he said.
Another endorsement
Adam Reid says the Ag Days Innovation Awards also boosted interest for K-Hart Industries’ Spyder Disc Drill. He’s director of sales and marketing with the Oak Bluff firm. They won an innovation award at the show in the machinery category in 2023 when the Spyder Disc Drill caught the attention of show attendees for it’s unique folding design, known as an “M-fold.”
“It’s a narrow fold machine and the way it folds for transport is unique in the industry,” said Reid.
Reid said winning the award made a difference to the company.
“It’s obviously a prestigious award and it’s great to be recognized. The banner is hanging up in our office and it’s something that we promoted very heavily at that time,” he said.
“It just reinforced for the people that work at the company and the farmers that had already purchased our machines that we were actually onto something,” said Reid.
Show a building block
Since 2023, K-Hart has expanded distribution, and the drill itself has been redesigned for new models.
“We’ve expanded our customer base every year and getting that award was just really nice to reinforce the company was actually onto something in terms of the design in the disc drill,” Reid said.
Rogoschewsky said Adaptive Agriculture invested their prize money from the Innovation Awards right back into their company.
The company now does business in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, eastern Canada, the Maritimes and parts of the United States.
“When we started with the Manitoba Ag Days show, it was basically our launch point, even though we’re a Saskatchewan company,” Rogoschewsky said. “We felt the show organized at Ag Days was key to launching our company and the success we’ve had out of that base.”
Rogoschewsky said winning the awards has been a great asset for Adaptive Agriculture.
“It helped us launch our company with some of the natural marketing that comes out of these shows and gave us the exposure to keep building the company and expanding it out,” he said.
“When you receive that sort of unexpected cash prize, it’s very well received for sure. We’re thankful and it helps,” he said.
Ongoing effort
The Innovation Showcase has been an integral part of Manitoba Ag Days since 2020, recognizing new technology, innovations or products for their contribution to the agricultural industry.
To compete for an Innovation Award, a company must apply to put their innovation in the show. Ag Days has a committee who analyzes all the innovations that come in.
Rogoschewsky says there’s “some paperwork on the front end” but that it’s important organizers have a chance to review the products that are competing.
The results of the Innovation Showcase are announced on the second day of the event.
For more show coverage, videos and more, stay tuned into the Manitoba Co-operator’s Ag Days landing page.
