Category: Exhibitor News 2019

CERTA Returns as a Sponsor and Fuel Partner of the National Ploughing Championships for the fifth consecutive year, Powered by Renewable Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil.

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The National Ploughing Association is delighted to announce that Certa will once again be a Sponsor and Fuel Partner of the National Ploughing Championships, taking place from 15th–17th September 2026 in Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly

Delivering an event of this scale requires a substantial and reliable fuel supply. Throughout the three days of the National Ploughing Championships, Certa will supply HVO to power the event, including fuelling the site’s generators and lighting towers.

Managing Director of the NPA, Anna May McHugh, commented: “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Certa as our Sponsor and Fuel Partner for the National Ploughing Championships. Their commitment to supplying HVO renewable fuel supports our efforts to reduce the environmental impact of the event, while providing the reliable energy needed to power the National Ploughing Championships.” 

Certa will return as the Official Fuel Supplier to the National Ploughing Championships for the fifth consecutive year, reinforcing the long-standing partnership.

Anna May McHugh, Managing Director of the NPA and Orla Stevens, Managing Director of Certa Ireland pictured at the launch of Certa as the official fuel supplier for Ploughing 2026

Commenting on the partnership, Certa Managing Director Orla Stevens said:

“The National Ploughing Championships is a true celebration of Ireland’s rural heritage, bringing together tradition, innovation, skill and community. At Certa, we are proud to support this landmark event once again and to play our part in helping it become more sustainable. Through the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a renewable alternative to Diesel that can reduce carbon emissions by up to 90%, we are helping to lower the event’s environmental impact while supporting a cleaner energy future”

Throughout the event, Certa will showcase its range of energy and fuel solutions, including HVO, agricultural fuels, home heating oil, lubricants, retail fuel services and solar solutions. Certa will also be highlighting its newly signed charity partnership with the RNLI.

Glanbia supports Pink at Ploughing!

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Glanbia Chairman Martin Keane along with Glanbia Ireland Corporate Affairs Director Pat O’ Keeffe, presented a cheque for €25,000 to Catherine Wallace, Nurse Coordinator on Breast Health Education and Awareness at Breast Cancer Ireland at the Glanbia Ireland stand at the National Ploughing Championships on Wednesday. The funds were raised by employees and farmer suppliers who took part in the Pink Bales campaign and the Glanbia 300 annual charity cycle. Glanbia is the title sponsor of the Great Pink Run, a major fundraiser organised by Breast Cancer Ireland annually and this year’s event takes place in the Phoenix Park on October 19th and the Castle Park in Kilkenny on October 20th. Register now on www.greatpinkrun.ie

Farmers warned about hidden dangers from confined spaces on farms

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Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen TD, today officially opened the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) Farm Safety exhibit at the National Ploughing Championships in Ballintrane, Fenagh, County Carlow.

At the event, Minister Breen launched a new HSA publication on ‘Confined Spaces in Agriculture’, which explains the dangers associated with confined spaces and sets out practical steps on how to prevent life threatening incidents.

Minister Breen said the exposure to dangerous gases in confined spaces such as in a grain silo, slurry pit or storage tank is a real risk in modern farming.

“Farming is still the most dangerous job in Ireland with an average of 21 deaths a year in workplace incidents and 207 farming fatalities in the last decade (2009-2018). While there have been some improvements with 15 farm related deaths in 2018, every death is one too many, and leads to devastation for the loved ones and communities left behind. I would urge all those involved in working on farms to read the HSA’s new publication and to familiarise themselves with the dangers of working in confined spaces.”

There have been nine deaths in confined spaces on Irish farms in the last five years.  On foot of a request from the coroner into one of these fatalities in a bulk storage tank, the HSA compiled this new publication to help farmers identify confined spaces on their farms, and to warn farmers of the possible risks of exposure to dangerous gases in confined spaces.

HSA Chief Executive Officer, Dr Sharon McGuinness, said any confined space on a farm poses a potentially life-threatening hazard but the threat may not be apparent until it’s too late.

“We are very concerned that farmers generally don’t recognise or consider the dangers of confined spaces.

“Confined spaces such as silos, vats, tanks, wells, slurry pits and other enclosed or partly enclosed structures, can very quickly lead to suffocation and death if a person is exposed to dangerous vapours, toxic gases, dust or low oxygen levels.

“The safest approach with any confined space is to avoid going in there in the first place. If work must be done in a confined space, it should only be carried out by trained professionals.

“The message we want people to take away from our exhibit is that these places are not somewhere people should work or children should play,” Dr McGuinness concluded.

With 14 confirmed farm fatalities so far this year, the HSA will be providing live safety demonstrations at the ploughing championship on key issues to help reduce farm fatalities and injuries.

The exhibit area on the HSA Ploughing Stand will feature vehicle safety, machinery safety, quad bike safety, vehicle crush zones, safe tractor use and PTO management.  There will also be a major focus on safe working at height and the Order of Malta will enact an emergency services incident response each morning for visitors to the stand.

There will be reminders on how to stay safe on the farm with rolling footage of ‘Survivor Stories’, ‘Livestock Safety’ and ‘Older, Wiser, Safer’ DVDs on view within the marquee.  Meanwhile, the Irish Heart Foundation will offer blood pressure and health checks to farmers to help reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Copies of the new ‘Confined Spaces in Agriculture’ publication will be freely available at the HSA exhibit at (Block 2, Row 21, Stand 462), or can be downloaded from the HSA website here