Category: News

The National Brown Bread Baking competition in-conjunction with Aldi and the ICA has once again sparked great interest throughout the country as hundreds of bakers from every county in Ireland have entered breads of a seriously high quality, to be named as “The Best Brown Bread Baker” in Ireland at this year’s Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

The twenty seven individual county winners have now qualified for the Regional Final in An Grianán in Termonfeckin, Co. Louth on August 24th where the top 8 winners will be selected to go to the Ploughing Championships for the semi-finals and final in the Aldi Marquee.

This year’s prize pot is very generous, with the winner receiving at least €10,000 in profits whilst also having the prestige of selling their bread in Aldi stores nationwide. Second place will receive €1,000, €500 for third, €300 for fourth and the other semi-finalists will all get €200 each.

NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said “We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with Aldi and the ICA given the popularity and success of the Brown Bread Baking competition at Ploughing. The total attendance figures for the 2016 Ploughing Championships came to a record breaking 283,000 and this year’s Championships look set to be bigger and better than ever.”

“The Championships not only provides a national stage for showcasing all things agricultural, but also brings together people from all sectors of Irish society both rural and urban, to enjoy three days immersed in country living.”

Download the list of finalists HERE

NPA are delighted to once again be partnering with Top Oil as the official fuel sponsor for this year’s Ploughing.   Highlighting this successful pairing, over 100 road sign billboards have been erected at strategic locations throughout the country for this epic event which takes place from September 19th to 21st.

With visitor enjoyment levels always at the forefront of the NPA’s consideration this year will see the length of trakway increased to a massive 30km for ease of movement throughout the site in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

At this week’s launch, Managing Director of the NPA, Ms Anna May McHugh, along with management staff from Top Oil and the Top Oil mascot Mr Ted, erected the first of these advertisements. As the billboard went up, Ms McHugh spoke of how she looked forward to working very closely with Top Oil in the run up to the Championships and stated “I am delighted that Top Oil have come on board again this year as sponsorship partners of the event. Top Oil are a very well-known brand throughout Ireland and instantly recognisable throughout the rural community”.

“As one of our sponsorship partners, Top Oil bring much to the table in terms of supporting the Championships. As an organisation, they have a great appreciation of the importance and impact events such as the Championships have on both the national economy and the local community.”

Martin Daly, Sales & Marketing Director expressed how Top Oil look forward to this year’s Championships “We are proud to be providing Quality Oil to the local communities of Ireland for over 200 years and are delighted to be supporting this prestigious event for the fourth consecutive year.
There is always great excitement throughout our nationwide network of Top Oil depots and retail sites about the ploughing and this year is no different.

We are really looking forward to once again working closely with The National Ploughing Association and demonstrating the synergies of our two Irish brands and the importance of local communities to each of our businesses, we both believe in quality and safety, value for money and adding to our customers experience, many of which we hope to welcome onto our new look Top Oil stand from the 19th – 21st September.”

Last year’s National Ploughing Championships was attended by a record breaking 283,000 visitors and this year promises to be even better with over 1,700 diverse and exciting exhibitors already booked in.

EXHIBITOR STAND SPACE IS ALMOST FULL WITH 12 WEEKS TO GO
NPA Managing Director Anna May McHugh said “Due to unprecedented demand bookings for this year’s National Ploughing Championships are at an all-time high. We are delighted that so many have already committed to Ploughing because that is a real seal of approval for the event. It is the primary aim of the NPA to make the event better every year for visitors and exhibitors alike and early bookings give us much more time for the optimum site design and layout.”

“There is phenomenal worldwide interest with exhibitors coming from far flung countries such as Turkey, the USA, UK, Germany, Belgium, New Zealand, France and the Netherlands to have a presence at Europe’s largest outdoor event.”

“This year the core agricultural machinery companies, as always will be the anchor exhibitors of the championships showcasing hundreds of thousands of euros worth of the latest technology. The NPA are also at the planning stage of a few new initiatives in the machinery sector of the event which will add an interesting dimension together with a range of new exhibitors featuring in Screggan, Tullamore, Co Offaly from September 19th to 21st, creating a thrilling mix for visitors.”

“With record crowds of 283,000 visitors in attendance last year and with the site in Screggan proving to be a phenomenal success, signals would suggest another “great ploughing” is on the way.”

There is no doubt that the entrepreneurial spark is alive and well in Ireland with an unprecedented number of diverse and exciting businesses, exhibiting at the “Local Enterprise Village” at this year’s Ploughing Championships.

The Livestock Arena, Food and Lifestyle Villages are almost fully booked with the huge “dome” back again featuring over 100 exhibitors. The motor arena will be significantly bigger following hugely positive feedback in this sector last year. The dairy sector will be very well catered for with many new additions, which is particularly reflective of the times we are in and the huge surge in interest in this area.

The popular Innovation Arena is set to make a very welcome return with ground breaking technologies and cutting edge ideas that will amaze. There are only a few days left to enter – please see www.innovationarena.ie.

All of the firm favourite traditional attractions are set to return this year such as Fashion, Meggers, Sheep Shearing, Hunt Chase, Pony Games, Live Music and Dancing, Vintage Ploughing, Threshing, Sheep Dog Trials, Loy Digging, with celebrities and well known faces everywhere Ploughing 2017 is not to be missed.
In the ploughing stakes a particularly strong programme has attracted entries from all around the country and Northern Ireland bringing the number preparing to plough in Offaly over 300 for the 3 days. There has been a substantial increase in this year’s Novice class bringing the total to over 20 entrants, which proves great interest in the next generation of ploughers.

Prize fund equating to over €80,000 in supports for innovative agri companies

The National Ploughing Championships Innovation Arena Awards, in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Farmers Journal, has opened for applications. Irish agri companies are invited to showcase their products and innovations at the heart of the NPA Innovation Arena at the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, 19 -21 September 2017.

Innovation Awards winners will be announced across a range of categories including ‘Agri Engineering’ and ‘Agricultural Technology’. The overall start-up winner will be eligible to win up to €5,000 cash prize.
The Innovation Arena is the ideal place to showcase ground-breaking agri-related developments, whether they are inventions developed at home or professional innovations from top companies, to the thousands of visitors the National Ploughing Championships attracts each year.

Ann May McHugh, Managing Director, National Ploughing Championships; Justin McCarthy, CEO and Editor in Chief, Irish Farmers Journal and Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland
Picture Colm Mahady / Fennells – Copyright© Fennell Photography 2017

This year’s Arena will focus on putting Irish agri-innovations on a world stage and will include seminars on Brexit, Agri-Careers and Global Markets as well as facilitating networking opportunities. Last year’s competition attracted 200 entries; 55 were shortlisted as 2016 finalists and invited to exhibit in the Innovation Arena.

Ann May McHugh, Managing Director, National Ploughing Championships; Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland and Justin McCarthy, CEO and Editor in Chief, Irish Farmers Journal

Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland said: “The agri sector is of huge importance to the Irish economy and a key role of Enterprise Ireland is to help companies in the sector scale-up. The Innovation Arena at the National Ploughing Championships is a key event for Enterprise Ireland where we showcase the top Irish agri-innovations to international buyers. This year, we will launch a new initiative that will see an ‘Innovation Boot Camp’ held on August 22 at the Irish Farmers Journal demonstration farm in Tullamore. This Boot Camp will deliver advice, mentoring, and support for innovators in the agri sector and we look forward to seeing the next wave of Irish agri companies coming to the fore”.

Justin McCarthy, CEO and Editor in Chief, Irish Farmers Journal said: “The Farmers Journal is leading change and innovation across the agricultural industry, and indeed in our own business. Irish agricultural products both in food and manufacturing have a worldwide reputation. Our green based production systems and spin off industries are the foundation of our success. The Farmers Journal is excited about our involvement with partners Enterprise Ireland and the National Ploughing to promote established and start-up companies.”
Anna May McHugh, Managing Director of the National Ploughing Championships said: “The National Ploughing has been a fore runner in innovation since 1931 for agriculture and indeed rural Ireland as a whole. We are again delighted to team up with Enterprise Ireland and the Farmers Journal to facilitate the Innovation Arena for 2017. This year sees the partnership grow even stronger with the largest arena ever and a strong focus on Irish manufacturing and products.”

Julie Sinnamon, CEO, Enterprise Ireland; Justin McCarthy, CEO and Editor in Chief, Irish Farmers Journal and Ann May McHugh, Managing Director, National Ploughing Championships

The 2017 NPA Innovation Arena prize fund equates to over €80,000 in supports – up €15,000 when compared to last year’s competition. The overall award winner will receive a top prize worth €15,000 from Enterprise Ireland and The Irish Farmers Journal which includes advertising and PR support, mentoring and a cash prize of €5,000. All finalists will receive an advertising voucher to promote their innovation through the Irish Farmers Journal and a subsidised stand in the Innovation Arena for 2017. The final participants for the 2017 Innovation Arena will be selected on 22 August.

To enter this year’s Innovation Arena Awards please visit:
https://www.eventsforce.net/enterpriseireland/2074/register