Fieldays home of rural innovations

Antahi Innovations owners Ursula and Mark Haywood at the 2016 Fieldays Innovation centre.

Cambridge-based Antahi Innovations has gone from strength to strength after the launch of its 'kinder' calf feeders at last year's National Fieldays.

Ursula and Mark Haywood entered their products, TrustiTuber and FlexiTuber, in the 2016 Fieldays Innovation Awards.

They were selected to display their products in the Fieldays Innovations Centre where they won a major award.

Now, less than a year later, they are winning praise from farmers around the globe, and their products are distributed in 18 countries including the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan.

"We are really rapt," says Ms Haywood. "We've had great feedback from farmers."

Ms Haywood, a Tirau dairy veterinarian, came up with the idea three years ago through her interactions with farmers during calving season.

"There is some unforgiving equipment out there and I thought it could be done better," she says.

"As a vet I knew about animal anatomy and I wanted to make a tube feeder that would be more comfortable and safer for the calves."

Ms Haywood, who has worked as a vet for more than 10 years, said many farmers told her they disliked tube feeding.

The products, which took more than two years to develop, have a flexible tube and easy-swallow safety tip designed to flex around a calf's airway.

The FlexiTuber differs from the TrustiTuber in that it has a strap to secure the calf's mouth in the optimum position.

"We see a 90 per cent reduction in behavioural signs of stress in animals when we use our products," says Ms Haywood.

"Making the procedure easier on the calves also makes it easier and less unpleasant for farmers, encouraging them to treat sick or weak calves earlier."

Antahi's TrustiTuber and FlexiTuber won the Tompkins Wake IP and Commercialisation Award at last year's event, receiving $5000 in legal advice and support from top Hamilton law firm Tompkins Wake.

Ms Haywood said being involved in the Fieldays Innovation Awards was invaluable for her business, especially the support, mentoring and networking opportunities provided to entrants.

"It was the perfect place and timing to launch our products.

"The Innovations Centre is a real drawcard for Fieldays' visitors, and a lot of foot traffic comes through. It was a cost-effective way to get a sense from potential customers about the value of the products. It was a real buzz over the whole four days," says Ms Haywood.

The three main Innovation Awards categories are the Tru-Test Prototype Innovation of the year (including the grassroots and established companies subcategories), the Fieldays Launch NZ Innovation of the Year (for innovations ready to hit the market) and the Fieldays International Innovation of the Year.

Judges consider things such as inventiveness, design and originality, the process of coming up with the innovation, commercial opportunities, intellectual property protection, technical viability and its benefit to New Zealand agriculture.

Other awards up for grabs include Fieldays Young Inventor of the Year, Vodafone Innovation in Technology Award of the Year, Locus Research Innovation Award, Crowe Horwath Agri Innovation Award, Tompkins Wake IP and Commercialisation Award and Origin Intellectual Property Award.

- For more information on the awards or to enter please visit www.fieldays.co.nz/enterinnovationcentre