Category: en2017

Big Red Barn Ltd are the manufacturers of the most innovative modular structures on the market. Our products are manufactured to meet individual customers needs and for the events rental market catering for festivals such as Marley Park and Electric Picnic to the National Ploughing Championships and a whole range of other private events.

Modular Homes are our latest product range and these will be formally launched at this year’s National Ploughing Championships by Anna May McHugh (NPA Managing Director)

The inspiration for our new product resulted from the fact that products currently available on the market fail on a wide number of fronts:

• They are generally over-priced!
• Customised designs are generally not available.
• Pre-manufactured units require access to site with large artic trucks and often require expensive crane hire for erection.

Due to the unavailability of finance or the need for substantial deposits and difficulties with acquiring planning approval for regular homes a large population of young couples are forced to live with their parents, sharing accommodation which was never designed for multi-family living.

Our product helps to resolve these issues:

• Our modular home can be erected on grounds without the need for expensive concrete pads.
• Due to the design and construction of our home and the ability to re-locate it easily; planning permission may not be required.
• Our products are custom-built so the customer is involved in the design stage and gets exactly what they require.
  • The only limitation to design is your imagination.
  • Our unique design therefore allows for total flexibility on overall finish; internal room size and shape; kitchens and bathrooms.
• Our design can include covered decking areas and additional features.
• Our products are “flat-packed” which means they can be transported to site on a regular trailer on normal access routes without the inconvenience of requiring special traffic management plans and approvals or expensive crane hire for erection.
• Due to our unique patented design, our products are more competitively priced than our competitors.
• Our products are environmental friendly, External timbers are kiln-dried Scandinavian pine.
• Our homes come with AA+ Grade Double Glazed windows and Kingspan Insulated Roof and Wall panels making them easy to heat and economical to run.

Daily shows in our theatre on the hour daily from 9 – 5 they alternate between  Scientific Sue Shows & James Real Science of the circus

Daily workshops with Fab Foundation Ireland

Interactive displays with the Research Centres ( 4 centres attending each day)

Scientific Sue Shows

Have you ever wondered why bubbles float? Why bubbles are round? What the secret ingredient in bouncing bubbles is? To answer these questions and many more come and join Scientific Sue in her Bubble Laboratory.

The REAL Science of the Circus a live science show like no other. Performed by James Soper, the juggling scientist, The REAL Science of the Circus is a spectacular combination of top quality circus skill and science education. James is a Guinness World Record holding juggler, fully qualified teacher and ex-professional circus performer and he demonstrates the forces curriculum in a way that is guaranteed to enthrall and inspire in equal measure.

• Physics buskers – inside and outside the marquee Our “busking performances” involve interactive experiments and demonstrations selected for maximum engagement, excitement and education.
• Fab Foundation Ireland Every half hour from 10 am – 4pm we will be running walk in workshops with Fab Foundation Ireland to learn about printing and making aa 3 d whistle ( pics attached )
• Smart Futures (www.smartfutures.ie<http://www.smartfutures.ie>) promoting STEM careers to students in Ireland. It provides access to careers information and role models to students, parents, guidance councillors and teachers.
• Science Week is Ireland’s biggest annual promotion of science to the general public. The week-long programme of events across Ireland each November aims to make science more interesting and accessible to children and adults alike.(www.scienceweek.ie<http://www.scienceweek.ie>)
• 12 world-leading SFI Research Centres   Science Foundation Ireland  funds 12 world-leading, large-scale SFI Research Centres – that represent major economic impact for Ireland, with €355m Exchequer funding and €190m industry investment. They are focused on research in areas such as advanced materials, bio-engineering, pharmabiotics, medical devices, photonics, software, data analytics, Internet of Things, marine renewable energy, geosciences, and solid-state pharmaceuticals, as well as fetal and neonatal translational research.

Ballyealan Engineering, an exciting agri-engineering company in its infancy, is launching 16 new products at The National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co. Offaly from September 19^th-21^st.  To celebrate the company’s first attendance at The National Ploughing Championships a competition is being run to win a heavy-duty bale handler, entries will be taken on Stand 363, Row 16, Block 4 over the 3 days.

Recent graduate and 2016 Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur Offaly winner Darragh Egan set up Ballyealan Engineering in June 2017 to manufacture high quality, durable, safety-related equipment for farmers.  Products to be launched at The National Ploughing Championships include “The Easy Arm”, a ring feeder lifting device, a heavy-duty bale handler, a heavy duty double bale handler and a mobile crush.

All products will be on show at Stand 363, Row 16, Block 4 while “The Easy Arm” is also entered in the Innovation Arena and can be viewed there.  Ballyealan Engineering will be demonstrating the operation of “The Easy Arm” in the Demonstration Area throughout the 3 days.

The Irish Holstein Friesian Association will again have a vibrant presence at this year’s National Ploughing Championships. A team of Pedigree Registered Holstein Friesian cows on display will serve as a focal point for the Association in highlighting the many services and benefits it offers to dairy farmers. The team of cows on live display are sourced from herds located locally in neighbouring counties and exemplify the tremendous efficiency, genetic diversity and variation that exists within the Holstein Friesian breed.

Cow Averages of the Holstein Friesian team of cows on display

The day-to-day care of these Holstein Friesian cows i.e. feeding, milking and bedding always proves to be a novel attraction among all ages of those attending the Ploughing Championships. The evening milking each day inevitably draws a large gathering of onlookers within the IHFA pavillion as the familiar humming sound of the mobile milking machine signals the start of milk collection. For many onlookers it may be their first time to witness live a cow being milked.  

Thanks to local breeders for loaning their cows; Damien Brennan (Kilclonfert),Kevin Flynn (Reary), Fearghal Sullivan (Kilduff), Pat Cleary (Carrickshock), Peter Ging (Ballyclider).

The Holstein Friesian breed is uniquely positioned to be utilised by dairy farmers to add value to their business by offering high yields of milk solids, functional conformation, cow family recognition, cull cow return, generations of ancestry, and with an ability to impact positively on family income based on over 50 years of trusted & proven performance rooted in the Irish dairy landscape.

IHFA has an open herdbook which means new members are welcome to join and through its Grade-Up service can then go on to attain Pedigree status for their herd. The process involved is very simple. On thousands of dairy farms throughout the country there is an accumulation of good breeding records built up over many years. Based on such records, the Grade-Up service can provide a pathway to attain Pedigree Holstein Friesian status. It is a streamlined process to add value to these records that have been built up through the years and indeed over generations of farm families.

There will be a free draw with some tremendous prizes on offer. 1st prize is the opportunity to win a Pedigree Registered Holstein Friesian heifer calf. This could be your lucky chance to put build a new cow family addition to your herd! Entry to the draw is free, simply call in for a visit and fill up the entry form.

YMA is the organisation within IHFA that caters for young members up to the age of twenty-six. A talent base of enthusiastic young people is so important for the continued prosperity of any Association and there are many YMA events and competitions that cater for the young generation. There are local YMA clubs of like-minded young people across the country .   

 Conformation scoring and Classification are valued IHFA services in helping dairy farmers reach specific breeding goals for their herd. It is an independent, unbiased linear assessment of the functional  components of cows in your herd. The linear scores attained build-up over generations of breeding and this can help add value to cow families. The data collected is also used in conveying the message of a Bull’s transmitting pattern which all dairy farmers can asses in making informed breeding decisions. Genomic testing technology is a service that continues to expand in possibilities. All IHFA registered stock bulls receive genomic breeding values in addition to parentage verification. This increases the reliability of the figures and helps the farmer using stock bulls to make informed decisions.

Other IHFA service offerings will be on view at its Ploughing Championships pavillion.                             Staff members will be on hand to help with queries and will be happy to offer assistance.