Ireland boxes well above its weight when it comes innovation in agricultural machinery, and the Lincolnshire Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Association (LAMMA) show is once again giving companies from here the chance to be recognised for their efforts.

The LAMMA Innovation Awards, sponsored by Rural Asset Finance, recognise innovation and advances within the agricultural machinery industry.

The awards, available for all LAMMA exhibitors to enter, will showcase the advances made by manufacturers through nine categories, plus an overall winner, at the 2026 show.

The nine categories include Livestock/Dairy Innovation of the Year, which covers all aspects of livestock feeding, handling and management, from fencing all the way through to milking and milling.

The Grassland Innovation of the Year will address advances in grass and forage production, while the tillage sector has two sections - crop establishment and crop care.

The first of these covers any piece of equipment that is used in cultivation of the ground or drilling of a crop, while the second picks up where the first leaves off and focusses on machinery that is used to manage the crop once planted.

Moving away slightly from the straightforward matter of giving prizes to the best machines for a particular job, LAMMA will also be recognising equipment that serves a concept rather than a delineated task.

Two awards cover this area, the Digital Technology Innovation of the Year award and the Future Innovation for Environmental Benefit of the Year prize.

These two categories highlight a product or service that either use digital technology to provide a service to farmers or fulfils a need with environmental benefits at its core.

There are two overall awards that are presented to any machine irrespective of category.

The first of these is the Machine of the Year award, which is given to a piece of equipment that shows the greatest innovation. It does though, need to be available for purchase in either the UK or Ireland.

The second is the LAMMA Gold Award, which is presented to the best innovation from across all the categories.

There is also the British and Irish Manufacturer of the Year, which is presented to the manufacturer showing consistent innovation and progression.

The manufacturer has to be based in the UK or Ireland and production needs to take place in either country.