Author: National Ploughing Association

The Department of Social Protection

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The Department of Social Protection will be attending the National Ploughing Championships from 19 to 21 September. 

We will be based in the Our Rural Future: Supporting People and Communities section of the Government of Ireland Village, at Block 3 | Row 22 | Hub 348 seen on the map here.

The changes in the State Pension (Contributory) and the new Auto-Enrolment scheme are our focus this year.

Over the course of the three days, experts from the Department will give talks on the latest developments taking place on State Pension (Contributory) changes and the new Auto-Enrolment retirement scheme that will give employees extra income in retirement.

These presentations will take place in the nearby We’re Taking Climate Action section of the Government of Ireland Village based at Block 3 |Row 23 | Stand 361, each day at 10:30am.

Pensions and Auto-Enrolment experts will also be available on our stand each day to answer queries on the new Auto-Enrolment retirement scheme and the changes to the State Pension (Contributory).

Visitors can learn the latest information on the Long-Term Carers Contributions Periods and the enhanced Pensions Contributory Statement now available at MyWelfare.

A visit to our stand is also a must for anyone interested in creating and verifying a MyGovID account, which gives safe, online access to a range of government services including JobsIreland, Revenue, the National Childcare Scheme and the National Driving License Service (NDLS).

There will also be staff from the Rural Social Scheme at our stand for the duration of the event.

For queries in relation to the Department’s attendance at the National Ploughing Championships, please email us at Customerservice@welfare.ie

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empowerDX, a Leading Home-test Provider Launches in Ireland

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empowerDX Ireland, a leading producer of self-sampling health tests, will attend the National Ploughing Championships 2023, the largest agricultural show in Europe, which will take place in Ratheniska, Co. Laois, Ireland, from September 19th to 21st. 

Inspired by the work of the Agriculture & Food Development Authority in promoting health and wellness among the farming community, empowerDX Ireland will be showcasing its innovative and high-quality products for human health and wellness, such as self-sampling blood and DNA tests.

empowerDX tests are already available in several countries across the world, including the USA, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In Ireland, empowerDX is initially launching the following home tests: Colorectal Cancer, Haemochromatosis, Prostate Cancer (PSA), Diabetes, Vitamin D and Cholesterol, with additional tests to follow. Home health testing can provide the public, especially those who have busy lives, like farmers, with an accessible, affordable and convenient way of monitoring, and increasing their knowledge about, their health.

The National Ploughing Championships 2023 is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors and the event will feature ploughing contests, livestock exhibitions, machinery demonstrations and many other activities related to the farming industry.

empowerDX Ireland invites attendees to visit its stand at the event and discover its latest self-sampling health test innovations and solutions.

For further information about empowerDX Ireland, please visit www.empowerDX.ie or contact support@shop.empowerdx.ie.

About empowerDX: 

Following the successful footsteps of its sister company in the USA and joining the recent launch of empowerDX in a number of European countries including Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy, empowerDX Ireland will offer Irish customers affordable, safe, easy to use and modern home health testing kits to screen for a wide variety of health considerations. 

Customers order testing kits online, collect their sample from the comfort of their home and then send the sample to be analysed by empowerDX’s partner laboratories, which are part of the international network of Eurofins laboratories. Customers receive an uncomplicated, intuitive, and user-friendly report containing their results; accessible through a secure online account a few days after the laboratory receives the sample.

Virtual Reality Quad Experience

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VIRTUAL REALITY QUAD EXPERIENCE AIMED AT IMPROVING FARM SAFETY WILL BE AVAILABLE AT PLOUGHING CHAMPIONSHIPS – FRS TRAINING 

10 quad related deaths on Irish farms over last decade 

Special training programme on quad safety will be rolled out around the country

A virtual reality (VR) quad bike experience, aimed at helping improve farm safety, will be available for visitors to the National Ploughing Championship from FRS Training. The VR experience will take the user across various agricultural scenarios and terrains such as the farmyard, herding cattle, rough and inclined ground, showing how these vehicles should be handled. 

Quad bikes have been growing in popularity as agricultural vehicles in recent times but their use has also led to a number of accidents occurring. 10 quad related deaths are reported* to have occurred on Irish farms over the last decade.

From 20th November 2023, Government regulations will make it mandatory for all quad operators to undergo training and to wear appropriate protective equipment, including a helmet.  To help address these significant agricultural health and safety regulations, FRS Training will be rolling out a new quad bike training programme nationwide. 

The FRS Training Quad Bike Courses will run over two days and will be QQI accredited. The training covers operations, loading as well as health & safety around quad use. Group courses can be arranged, and individual public courses can be booked at www.frstraining.com

Speaking about the VR quad experience and the new training programme, Colin Donnery, Group CEO of FRS Network said, “The use of quads on Irish farms continues to grow.  These vehicles are becoming an increasingly popular choice for farmers as they are a useful and multipurpose vehicle for transport, spraying, spreading and a range of other work on the farm. Yet with this growth in usage, there are rising safety concerns around how they are being operated.

“Unfortunately there have been far too many accidents related to quad bikes on Irish farms in recent years, with at least 10 deaths being linked to their use in the last decade. Part of the problem is that people haven’t been properly trained in how to use these extremely powerful and heavy vehicles, which can lead to high risk driving behaviour and unfortunately in some cases, even dangerous misuse. 

“Our VR quad experience aims to give our visitors an immersive experience that will correct some of the misconceptions people have about driving quads, showing both their advantages and their perils. It will bring the VR user through several typical farm environments and scenarios, such as the farm yard, rough and inclined terrain, using the quad around livestock and more.

“Under new Government regulations, from the 20th November 2023 anyone operating quads on farms will also have to undergo training. We want to make Irish farms safer while also enabling those farmers who use quads to receive the training they need. Which is why we are rolling out our QQI accredited quad training programme nationwide.

“We truly hope that as more people grasp the key health and safety principles behind operating quad bikes, they will become more aware of the potential dangers. This will hopefully help reduce the number of quad related accidents on Irish farms, which is ultimately in the interest of everyone associated with Irish farming,” Mr. Donnery concluded.

The FRS VR Quad Bike experience is open to all free of charge on Row 11, Stand 204 at the National Ploughing Championships, Ratheniska, Co.Laois, between the 19th and 21st of September 2023. 

For further information contact Jimmy Healy, Cogency – 087 6479104

*Figure from Health & Safety Authority (HSA)

Reesink Agri

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 New machinery distributor Reesink Agri enters the Irish market with Kaweco high end slurry equipment from the Netherlands 

Dutch company Royal Reesink is a market leading international distributor and service provider in the field of high quality machinery, components and services in agriculture, landscape maintenance, Turfcare and warehouse equipment. The 238 year old Dutch giant was founded by Hendrik Reesink as a one man operation in the Netherlands in 1786 and today employs over 2,500 people in around 40 subsidiaries worldwide. 

Tomás Cooney explained that and the new Reesink Agri Division in Ireland will run alongside their existing Turfcare division in Nurney Co. Kildare and that the first product they are introducing is the Kaweco range of high end slurry equipment from the Netherlands. 

With a rich history Kaweco have been producing slurry tanks in their plant in Hengelo since 1969 and are part of the wider Royal Reesink Group. They excel at producing high end specialized slurry tanks for intensive users and contractors looking to maximise output and efficiency. They also specialise in slurry injection with applicator options of up to 12 metres wide for both tillage and grassland. 

He explained that with splash plate slurry spreading outlawed in the Netherlands since 1992 both tanker technology and application methods have reached a more advanced level there with 95% of slurry now applied through injection. Dutch regulations also oblige farmers to record all slurry application details on a central data base and with regulations also tightening here it is something Irish farmers are also expecting to see introduced in the future. 

Kaweco slurry tank range 

Kaweco produce a wide range of tanks to meet all customer needs including trailed, goose neck and self propelled units. The Profi I, II and III trailed tanker range varies in size from 2200 to 7000 gallons with single, twin, tandem and tridem axle options available. Trailing shoe options are available from 6 to 30m and disc injector models are from 5.6 to 12m for tillage and grassland applications. 

At the recent Irish launch event the company were using a twin axle KAWECO PROFI II 4000 gallon contractor model tank with a Liftmax premium linkage system enabling the machine to be used with both a 15m Bomech Trailing shoe and a Kaweco Opti-Ject 8m Disc Injector offering contractors plenty of flexibility depending on their customers needs. 

Most tanks are built to order and the integrated chassis and modular build of the tank makes it very easy to add additional options at a later stage. The machine is divided into 2 compartments and empties from the back first keeping weight applied on the tractor ensuring better balance and traction. 

Other notable features are the rotary lube pump which is positioned under the machine for maximum filling and unloading capacity. The flowmeter is mounted vertically to ensure a more even flow of slurry at start up and in combination with the Isobus system it ensures slurry flow is automatically regulated in conjunction with tractor forward speed and PTO rpm. 

For further details see Kaweco.com or contact Tomás Cooney directly on 087 2470684. The Reesink Agri/Kaweco stand at the Ploughing will be in block 2, row 1 stand 8.