A tool to reduce methane in dairy farm effluent ponds, and a simple way to anchor centre-pivot irrigators before a big storm are innovations on show at the South Island Agricultural Field Days.
They are among bright ideas in a line-up of entries for the Innovation Award over the three-day field days at Kirwee, beginning today.
Awards co-ordinator Andrew Stewart said the field days had a reputation for showcasing emerging innovation.
Farmers were looking for easy-to-use solutions for everyday challenges, as well as emerging "big picture" issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and water quality improvement, he said.
"And this year is certainly no exception. Many of our visitors will already be familiar with the Ravensdown Ventures EcoPond technology that is capable of removing almost all the methane from dairy farm effluent, along with bacteria and phosphate."
Another Canterbury innovation is innovative technology from FieldMate for protecting the electric drive motor used in seed drills.
The drive system defines the distance between each seed released by the seeding disc on a drill, so it is kept tightly controlled for emerging crops.
The technology protects the rev counter sitting inside the seed drill metering system’s electric motor.
Farmers grappling with problems caused by centre-pivot ruts will also welcome the latest idea from Ruts Plus.
The company’s solar-powered and wireless machine follows the ground contour without operator adjustments, regardless of ground conditions. The company has also entered a pivot rut filler for easy and economical filling of centre-pivot ruts.
Farmers who have grappled with tying down their centre-pivot irrigators in the face of howling gales will appreciate Gray Engineering Solutions’ entry.
Its pivot anchors are a cost-effective and simple way of anchoring them down, so the expensive equipment does not get tipped over by high winds.
Mr Stewart said the entries had done an excellent job maintaining the standard of innovations seen in past years.
"Farmers appreciate being able to see, touch and use this tech, knowing it is the solution to something they may have struggled with for some time."
Industry experts will judge entries, with the winner announced during the event.
Award winners will receive prize money of $2500.
