{"id":289360,"date":"2018-07-30T14:10:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T13:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=289360"},"modified":"2018-07-30T14:35:57","modified_gmt":"2018-07-30T13:35:57","slug":"machine-of-the-year-to-be-unveiled-at-national-ploughing-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/machine-of-the-year-to-be-unveiled-at-national-ploughing-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Machine of the Year’ to be unveiled at ‘Ploughing 2018’"},"content":{"rendered":"
Entries to the ‘Machine of the Year’ competition are now being welcomed, with the winner set to be announced at the\u00a0National Ploughing Championships in September.<\/p>\n
The award is open to all machines launched or manufactured since last year’s event in\u00a0Screggan, Tullamore, Co. Offaly.<\/p>\n
Entries must currently be in manufacture and all machines should have a practical use<\/strong> in agriculture. Entries must also be exhibiting at Ploughing 2018 in order to be eligible for the competition.<\/p>\n Speaking about the “highly anticipated and prestigious ‘Machine of the Year’ competition”, the National Ploughing Association’s (NPA’s) assistant managing director – Anna Marie McHugh – hopes that the competition will be as big a success as last year.<\/p>\n The winner of last year’s \u2018Machine of the Year\u2019 competition – the Valtra N174 tractor<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThere was great interest with entries of an exceptional standard in last year\u2019s \u2018Machine of the Year\u2019 competition and this is to be expected again this year.<\/p>\n The quality of machinery at the ploughing is unparalleled – with ground-breaking displays and cutting-edge technologies worth in excess of \u20ac50 million.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cLast year\u2019s winner was the exceptional Valtra N174 tractor, which the judges praised for its ability to have different levels of specifications and the intuitive design of its touch-screen systems.”<\/p>\n This year the National\u00a0Ploughing Championships – Europe’s largest outdoor event – will return to Screggan on Tuesday, September 18; the event will run until Thursday, September 20.<\/p>\n