Aldi

Aldi is always one of those stands where the buzz and atmosphere draws you in. And once again, it is a must visit for country music stars as there is a jam-packed lineup throughout the three-day festival. Popular Irish country music star Mike Denver will return after three years to provide entertainment and there will also be some celebrity guest appearances.

For food lovers, there will be an abundance of treats including daily cooking demonstrations and 30 of Aldi’s Irish suppliers will be showcasing the very best of Aldi’s multi-award-winning range of Irish-sourced food and drink.

In addition, the semi-finals of the National Brown Bread Baking Competition will take place live from the marquee each day.

Four finalists will bake their brown bread live in front of the judges with the grand final taking place on Thursday which will see the winner take home €15,000 and have their very own brown bread recipe stocked in 150 Aldi stores nationwide.

TV and radio broadcaster Síle Seoige will also be on hand to host the Aldi stage throughout the three days with amazing giveaways up for grabs.

If you aren’t able to attend this year’s National Ploughing Championships, Virgin Media will be broadcasting from the Aldi marquee – allowing viewers to keep up with everything that is happening throughout the three-day event.

Rí na Mara

Treat yourself to some therapeutic cosmetic therapy and head down to Rí na Mara’s Irish Seaweed Cosmetics stand where you can see their exciting new products, sample their full range and check out their special offers.

Deirdre Uí Chathmhaoil, founder of Rí Na Mara. \ Julien Behal

Award-winning Galway company, Rí na Mara Irish Seaweed Cosmetics is a family-owned business based in An Spidéal, which manufactures a wide range of organic seaweed extract skincare products including anti-aging face cream, renewal facial oil, hyaluronic acid plumping facial serum and eye cream to relieve puffiness, dark circles and fine lines.

New products which will be launched at the Ploughing include cleansing water, body lotion, face masks, shower gel and dried seaweed for the bath.

The health and therapeutic properties of seaweed contain a balanced concentration of nutrients, vitamins and active minerals that enhance the skin’s physiological functioning and promote overall wellbeing.

Rí na Mara carefully selects and harvests organic seaweed plants off the west coast of Ireland which hosts the purest marine waters in the world.

Rí na Mara carefully selects and harvests organic seaweed plants off the west coast of Ireland which hosts the purest marine waters in the world.

It has created a unique combination of mineral-rich seaweed extracts and natural botanical extracts which, when slowly and meticulously distilled as one, form the basis of its skincare range. It is particularly beneficial for skin conditions such as psoriasis, eczema, acne and anti-aging properties.

Husqvarna

Husqvarna is part of the new movement of garden products. To see some of its innovative range of forest and garden equipment including battery-powered mowers and handheld products, head to its stand.

To see some of Husqvarna’s innovative range of forest and garden equipment, including battery-powered mowers and handheld products, head to its stand.

There will be special offers on a range of products and visitors will have the chance to win a Husqvarna goodie bag.

There will also be a working display of the robotic mower Husqvarna Automower® and the considerably bigger CEORA™ which is expected to be released in Ireland late 2022 or early 2023.

CEORA™ robotic mower deliver systematic cutting with virtual, wire-free boundaries meaning easier turf management on larger surfaces. The 546 drive unit delivers the highest cutting performance and largest total capacity, around 50,000m2 in a two-day period.

These robotic mowers are quiet, self-operating mowers that free up time for homeowners and facility managers, consuming very little energy and producing no direct emissions during use.

There will also be an area dedicated to the Husqvarna construction product assortment. In addition to its stable of cutting, drilling and compaction machinery and with an eye to the environment, it will have the new battery-powered range on display.

Check out the new K1 PACE powercutters, DM 540i drill, D110i vacs and the DXR – a demolition robot for the construction industry which delivers high power in spite of low weight. Equipped with a remote control, it enables demolition tasks in areas where it is too dangerous for workers to enter.

Fence De-Fence

The Ploughing is just the place to come across some innovative products and the Innovation Arena hosts some of Ireland’s most creative minds. These include the youngest ever winner of the Young Innovator of the Year Award.

Alanna McCabe with her award-winning innovation, ‘Fence De-Fence’ .

Sixteen-year-old Alanna McCabe has developed the Fence De-Fence mechanism which is no bigger than a standard bottle opener.

Sixteen year-old Alanna McCabe’s ‘Fence De-Fence’ .

A groove at one end of the small, key-ring device allows the user to push down on or hook up an electric fence, without fear of getting shocked, saving time and improving personal safety.

An incident on the family farm inspired the young innovator. She says: “I was farming with my Dad and he was crossing a fence and tried to jump it. He fell over and was lucky he didn’t hurt himself. I decided there should be an easier way to cross an electric fence and I came up with the idea.” Fence De-Fence is designed, laser cut and manufactured in Ireland

AgriGuardian

Another stand to check out at Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena is AgriGuardian, which will be launching its farm safety application.

AgriGuardian will be launching its farm safety application.

Over-65s and under-16s account for more than 50% of all farm fatalities and this solution is targeted at protecting these groups. The app is a wearable solution with three main features.

First, it has alert zone warnings so guardians draw zones on a map on their phones which are either danger or safe zones.

If a protected user enters or leaves one of these areas, all registered guardians are alerted.

The second feature is a proximity warning which alerts a user if someone is within 40 metres of the guardian, important if the person is carrying out dangerous work. And it also has an anchoring feature which allows parents bring younger users on to the farm as they will be warned should the child move further than 40 metres away from them.

AgriGuardian will also be at the AXA Insurance stand, one of its partners. All those that sign up for their newsletter will be in with a chance to win a €100 One4All voucher each day. Check out more at www.agriguardian.farm.

Cultivate Farm Finance

Cultivate, the collaborative credit union finance lending platform for farmers, will be exhibiting at the National Ploughing Championships for the first time this September.

The brand offers flexible unsecured loans up to €75,000 and is now available at more than 150 credit union locations across the country.

The Cultivate team, Tom McWey, Áine Doyle and Finbarr O’Shea with IFA president Tim Cullinan (second from right).

Based on analysis that was conducted of the first six months of 2022, this expansion has contributed to a 37% increase in the total number of loan applications to Cultivate versus the same period last year.

The average Cultivate loan application for the first half of 2022 was for €28,083 given to a farmer over 5.75 years who owned a farm of circa 34 hectares and had €126,946 debt on their farm.

If you are looking for farmer-friendly finance for projects like working capital, on-farm expansion, or stocking loans, call into the Cultivate stand which will be staffed by a team of financial experts. There is no need to be an existing credit union member to apply for a Cultivate loan.