Mike Cousins says the Innovation Showcase is an attendee favourite at Manitoba Ag Days, and for good reason.
Farmers are a tech-savvy lot, the farmer board representative notes, and that means they enjoy seeing any new solutions to common farm problems. That has generated plenty of innovative products and entries in the competition, Cousins notes.
“That’s not surprising considering the ag industry is constantly reaching for new heights in efficiency. I think a lot of folks come to the show to see what’s new and great and, with the seven different categories, there’s something for everybody whether you’re into ag equipment or livestock.”
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This is year number five for the recently named Innovation Showcase. In past years it was called the Inventor’s Showcase, in which a field of about 14 contestants were narrowed down to a first and second prize.
There were no particular classifications or groupings for inventions on display so, a few years ago, the committee developed seven categories that reflect the different types of farm technology. It opened the field to more than 30 applicants annually.
- Agronomics: Awarded to the company that has developed a new technology that improves crop production, including innovation in genetics, pesticide application (non-mechanical), and the process of producing a crop.
- Animal and Livestock: Awarded to the company that has a new technology that assists in the health and well-being of livestock animals.
- Agriculture Equipment: Awarded to the company that has developed a new equipment concept or technology that assists farmers and agriculture professionals with farming application.
- Agribusiness Services: Awarded to the company that has developed a new technology that assists farmers and agriculture professionals with the management of their farm business and clients.
- Ag Tech: Awarded to the company that has developed a new concept or technology that assists farmers and agriculture professionals with farming applications.
- Farm Safety: Awarded to the company that has developed a new product that assists farmers and agriculture professionals with safety.
- Farm Built Solutions: Awarded to the exhibitor that has developed a concept or technology that assists farmers and agriculture professionals with farming applications.
For the final category, organizers say they’re looking for grassroot inventions. If a farmer likes to tinker in the shop, garage or yard and has created something useful and progressive, they could be featured at the show. It’s a popular category with farmers and organizers alike.
“This one has always been a favourite of mine,” Cousins says with a laugh. “Maybe it’s the romantic notion of a producer in his shop figuring out something for himself.”
There are two entrants in the farm-built category this year. One is from Triple Pass Welding, called the Meth Head. The other is from Devloo and is a miniature combine dubbed the Canola Crusher.
The Meth Head is a simple mechanism that forces methyl hydrate into trailer air brake lines to keep them from freezing. The Canola Crusher is a small thresher that can take small grain samples to check for maturity.
‘You tote it around in your pickup when you’re looking for the next crop to go harvest,” Cousins said. “It saves you taking a combine 10 miles down the road to check out the condition of a crop.”
The show management team interviews each applicant and the top 32 are selected.
“I really enjoy the interview process, having phone conversations with the people and hearing their excitement while they explain their new item or invention, especially the small startups where the entrants are almost always the labour force and CEO,” said Cousins.
New exhibitors are placed in Barn 4 whenever possible and their booths are marked with an Innovation Showcase teardrop. Although anyone may enter, there is one important qualification. This has to be the first year of release in Canada for that particular product or service.
“To see the new items in real time at the show is likely the most exciting part to me,” Cousins said. “Putting a face to the voice on the other end of the phone line and being able to inspect and touch the innovation to see how it measures up to expectations.”
There are two prize winners in each category, a first and a runner up. First prize is a $1,000 advertising voucher with Glacier Media, the owner of this publication, along with $500 in cash. The runner up wins a $500 advertising voucher with Glacier Media and $250 in cash. Both winners get a mat they can put in front of their booths.
“It’s not so much the prize as it’s the recognition, the exposure that they get and the interaction that they get with real time people in a real time place,” Cousins said.
“It’s going to be an exciting year so I hope people come on out and witness the excitement first hand.”
Here are some of the other entrants in the Innovation Showcase:
Spider Hitch
Donnelly, Alta.
Spider Hitch solves the hassle of hooking up headers behind combines without help. It uses an embodied wirelessly controlled winch to pull the header to the combine and automatically latch on without an additional pin or clip.
Combinesettings.com
Battleford, Sask.
Combinesettings.com allows farmers to connect with peers locally or globally, to share combine settings specific to crop, combine type, equipment, geography and weather. It is the first time ag peer-to-peer information sharing like this has been centralized.
Vantage Ag
Langley, B.C.
The firm’s liquid fertilizers all have a particle size 30 to 40 times bigger than an atom. In a foliar application, producers require only a fraction of the actual nutrient with close to 100 per cent efficiency.
Setter Manufacturing Division
Russell, Man.
The Sprayer Companion comes with an optional programmable monitor and electric on/off valves and is built for fast, efficient and safe loading of chemical. The optional Drylock system eliminates contact with insecticides.
Komb Ag Services
Altona, Man.
Komb’s Mole Plow creates unlined tunnels (mole channels) in the clay subsoil formed by a mole plow. Mole plowing is an economical alternative to drain tile, compatible with existing subsurface drainage, and is efficient in different soils.
