Midlands Flavours Marquee to Showcase Culinary Excellence at National Ploughing Championships
Get ready for a true taste of the heart of Ireland.
The Midlands Flavours marquee is set to be a highlight of this year’s National Ploughing Championships, offering visitors a delicious journey through the finest food and drink from Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, and Longford.
Bringing together 18 local producers under one roof, the marquee will celebrate the rich culinary heritage and innovation of the region. From artisan cheeses and handcrafted beverages to freshly baked goods and artisanal preserves, the Midlands Flavours marquee is a testament to the authentic flavours and deep-rooted connections that define the region’s food scene.
Live cooking demonstrations with celebrity chef Gary O’Hanlon
In addition to the wide array of products, the marquee will feature a dynamic program of live cooking demonstrations. Well-known celebrity chef Gary O’Hanlon will bring his signature flair to the stage while acclaimed local chef Yvonne Carty will share her passion for fresh, seasonal cooking. Together, they will inspire visitors with creative dishes made from ingredients supplied by the participating Midlands producers.
The Midlands Flavours marquee promises to be a feast for the senses and a proud showcase of the region’s commitment to quality and craft.
Speaking about the initiative, Bernie Everard, Midlands Food and Drink Network Manager said: “The Midlands Flavours Marquee is about more than food – it’s about community, heritage, and pride of place. We are delighted to showcase the talent and hard work of local producers on a national stage, and to welcome visitors to experience the very best of Midlands hospitality. This initiative is in collaboration with the four Local Enterprise Offices and Local Authorities and reflects a strong commitment to promoting local enterprise and supporting sustainable food businesses across the region”
The Midlands Flavours marquee is supported by the Midlands Regional Enterprise Plan Pathway for Just Transition Project is co-funded by the Government of Ireland.
Event Details: Sept 16th, 17th and 18th in Screggan, Co. Offaly. Midlands Flavours will be at Block B, Row 8, Stand 187
Farmhand to showcase the best of Old and New at Ploughing
Farmhand celebrates 25 years of the Krone BiG X at the National Ploughing Championships in Tullamore this September. To mark the occasion, visitors will be treated to a display of one of the first BiG X 650s to be sold in Ireland alongside the flagship 2025 machine, the BiG X 1180. Although the harvesting concept remains the same between the old 650 and new 1180, the continuous development between the two machines is clear to see.
In keeping with this theme of machinery progression, Farmhand also present a 1960’s Krone Optimat displayed alongside the impressive RX 370 forage wagon and an original Quicke loader highlights the advances of the new Quicke N Series loader, designed with both practicality and price point in mind.
Also on stand 212 will be a range of Krone and Amazone machinery, including the ECR 321 CV mower, Vendro 790 tedder, Swadro TC880 rake, ZA-TS spreaders, new Teres Plough, Centaya mounted drill and the Amazone Profihopper 1500. Rounding off this impressive display of modern technology is the huge 45M Pantera 7004, Amazone’s state of the art self-propelled sprayer.
Seefa to host Forestry Hub at the 2025 National Ploughing Championships
The Social, Economic, Environmental Forestry Association of Ireland (SEEFA), with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, will be hosting a forestry hub for the very first time at this year’s National Ploughing Championships from the 16th to the 18th of September in County Offaly.
Visitors will find the SEEFA forestry Hub at Row 5, Block 5, Stand 133.
The centre will provide a space for visitors to learn about forestry, meet top industry professionals, and engage in informed discussions and Q&As on topics relevant to forestry in Ireland today. From students to foresters and landowners, there will be something for everyone.
The SEEFA forestry Hub will be a practical drop-in point for information and one-to-one conversations, with sector experts on hand to help people at every stage, from first planting to active management. It is designed for anyone curious about the role of trees in climate, rural incomes and nature.
Additionally, there will be several panel discussions and question-and-answer sessions throughout the three days, covering topics such as agroforestry, biodiversity, afforestation, timber first policy, and opportunities after Storm Éowyn. Panel sessions will include:
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- Improving Forestry: Ireland’s Path Forward
- Forests & the Climate Crisis
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- Planting for Biodiversity: Protecting Ireland’s Heritage
- Eye of the Storm: Irish Forestry After Éowyn
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- Bridging Fields and Fields through Agroforestry
- Timber First Policy & Certification
Conversations will be led by Ivan Yates and Michael Duignan. Yates is an entrepreneur, broadcaster, and a former Minister for Agriculture. Duignan is Chair of Offaly GAA, a respected Gaelic games administrator and commentator. Both have a keen interest in forestry and are vocal supporters of the sector.
They will steer a line up drawn from DAFM and SEEFA alongside working foresters, landowners, NGOs such as Hometree and the 100 Million Trees Project, leading academics, and industry voices. The programme also includes opening remarks and a panel contribution from Minister Michael Healy Rae. He will also join the first panel.
“This event is a great way to connect with people on forestry, whether they already manage a forest, are exploring their first planting, or are still not engaged with the sector. We look forward to a great event and thank organisations like the ITGA, DAFM, IFA, Climate Change Advisory Council and others for taking part in the important conversations covered by our panels.” – SEEFA Assistant P.R.O. Paddy Bruton.
“This event shows that this administration is prioritising foresters and making sure the private forestry sector has a real voice. We make progress when we work together. The Ploughing is a fantastic occasion, and we are delighted to play our part,” said SEEFA Chairman Padraig Egan.
There will also be a raffle during the event, with a headline prize of a chainsaw and 1,000 trees for a community planting project. Entry will be open throughout all three days at the hub, with further information available on site.
Audience space for panels is limited, so early arrival is a good idea. Final times and the full lineup will be shared on SEEFA channels before the event. Seating will be first-come, first-served.
SEEFA look forward to welcoming farmers, industry groups, the media and the wider forestry community to the forestry hub from 16 to 18 September. Promotion of the industry is more critical now than ever, and this event is an excellent opportunity to show Ireland the many benefits of forestry.
SEEFA also thanks the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Minister Michael Healy-Rae for their proactive approach to forestry promotion and their support of this event.
Abbey Machinery to Launch Nurse Tank and other extensions to the range at this year’s National Ploughing
Abbey Machinery is proud to introduce three exciting additions to our robust product range: the Nurse Tank, the VF1900 Diet Feeder, and the new Bale Shears.
We look forward to our customers being among the first to experience the Nurse Tank at its launch. Acting as a central supply point for LESS equipment in the field, the Nurse Tank complements the Abbey Slurry range by enabling efficient, continuous spreading. It reduces downtime and allows operators to work in areas that are otherwise inaccessible to tankers or slurry sources.
The new VF1900 Diet Feeder model joins our popular feeding range. With its lowered loading height it is compact yet powerful, it is designed to navigate narrow passageways with ease while delivering efficiency and labour savings. Standard features include twin augers with 22mm flighting, a flat top ring, a wide-angle PTO shaft, and twin wheels.
Making its debut this year, the Abbey Bale Shears are set to transform bale handling. Built with cutting-edge engineering, they streamline the process of splitting round bales while securely retaining the plastic.
Visitors to the Abbey stand can look forward to exploring our complete range, including:
- andDiet Feeders – with the new VF1900 model making its debut along with a range of sizes to meet the needs of different farms.
- Slurry Tanks including a 5000 Tri Axle Tanker, 4000 Recessed Tandem, 2050 Premium Recess and 2500 Recessed Premium Plus Tanks.
- LESS Applicators – Including a 12m Band Spreader, 10.2m Agri Pro Trailing Shoe, 7.7m Agri Pro Trailing Shoe and our newest addition to the LESS range the Flexi-Shoe
- Bale Shears – new to the line-up this year
Abbey Machinery is also bringing an expanded range of merchandise featuring special show-only deals each day.
Our focus this year is to give visitors a complete experience of the Abbey range – from our most popular models to our latest innovations. We’re proud to be at the heart of Irish farming and the Ploughing is the perfect opportunity to meet our customers and showcase what’s next for Abbey Machinery.
Join us to explore the range and meet with our team and experience the best of Abbey innovation at Stand 193, Row 8, Block 5.
Local Enterprise Offices and Google partner for the Ploughing Championships
The Local Enterprise Offices have announced they will partner with Google as part of the Local Enterprise Village at this year’s National Ploughing Championships, which takes place in Screggan, Tullamore, County Offaly from the 16th to 18th September.
This will be the first time that Google has had a presence at the Ploughing Championships and their partnership with the Local Enterprise Offices, as part of the Local Enterprise Village, aims to help upskill SMEs in digital tools and AI.
The new partnership between the Local Enterprise Offices and Google for the Local Enterprise Village was launched by Niamh Smyth, T.D., Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation at an event in Google.
The launch took place with Kieran Comerford, Chair of the Local Enterprise Offices, Cera Ward, Managing Director of Google and Anna May McHugh, Managing Director of the National Ploughing Championships alongside a selection of LEO clients who will get the chance to exhibit to almost 300,000 visitors as part of the Village in the Ploughing Championships.
Niamh Smyth, T.D., Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation, said; “This partnership between the Local Enterprise Offices and Google for the Ploughing Championships is an extremely positive development for the Local Enterprise Village at this year’s event. It will give small business owners both exhibiting and visiting the Ploughing the chance to tap into Google’s expertise in the areas of digitisation and AI in how they can significantly impact their business.
McHale Plant Sales to exhibit ‘compelling choice of machines’ at National Ploughing Championships
At the forthcoming National Ploughing Championship, construction-to-agri machinery distributor, McHale Plant Sales is set to display what they say will be ‘a compelling choice of machines’ all of which open a window on the future for the many commercially-minded visitors who attend the event’.
Though confirmation is awaited, the likelihood is that McHale Plant Sales will have a couple more ‘showstoppers’ for farmers, fans, and focused-on-business visitors to see.
Komatsu
Making its Irish debut at the event will be the all-new Komatsu PC220LC-12 excavator. With its ‘I’ version stablemate, the PC220LC-12 has been classified by Komatsu as ‘the most-advanced excavator ever and a template for future generations of Komatsu diggers yet to come’.
A ‘must see’ exhibit on the McHale Plant Sales stand, Irish customers will have the opportunity to examine its many features close-up. Ahead of anything on the market, the PC220LC-12 boasts ‘breath-taking’ aesthetics, intuitive ergonomics, extreme fuel efficiency, ultra-low emissions, effortless performance, and levels of digitalisation never-before-seen in a construction machine.
In addition to this newcomer, other Komatsu machines on show will appeal to the wide community of farm and forestry contractors: those with the pressure of heavy-duty and demanding contracts to manage; those with ambitions to expand and open new avenues; and those content to work and build a client base within their niche.
From Komatsu, another model to watch for is the new-to-the-Irish-market PC78US-11, Also on show, with a range of breakers, will be a PC138 digger from the Komatsu range of ‘utilities’ machines, and a fully agri-specified heavy duty wheel loader – the hefty WA380-8 unit, aimed at contractors whose client needs require a larger, more muscular machine.
Komatsu Forest
Also featuring will be a machine from the Komatsu forest harvesting range – likely a model 845 Forwarder.
Prinoth
From Prinoth, models will include a remote control Raptor 100, and two excavator-driven mulchers: a new M350e-750 unit suitable for a 5 tonne excavator, and a M450e-1090 unit for a 12-15 tonne excavator.