THERE ARE two gold medals, four silvers and two certificates of merit being handed out by the RHASS at this year's show in its Technical Innovation Award scheme.

Gold status is presented to a previous silver medal winner for on-going success and one of those is Houghton-Parkhouse's Platinum T35 Livestock Trailer.

The trailer from the Cumbrian company is exported into five countries and has been recognised for its high animal welfare during transportation, the environment and operator's safety.

Unique among transporters of this type, the T35 carries its own battery, which charges through the electrical hook-up to the towing vehicle. This runs a a range of services in the trailer.

Also reaching gold was the Kverneland Exacta TL GEOspread, a fertiliser spreader that automatically adjusts its working width to suit the overlap and coverage.

A saving of up to 15% can be achieved by reducing fertiliser use on overlaps and field margins.

Silver awards:

* Lambert and Dyson's pto-powered hot water pressure washer which can work on either the front or rear linkage of a tractor.

It has the added benefit of hot water, making it a unique machine.

* Limagrain UK's silver is for its UK winter wheat breeding programme, which has a reputation for producing successful varieties for Scotland.

The two newest additions, LG Sundance and LG Motown, were added to the AHDB Recommended List 2017/18 and offer alternative winter wheats with desirable agronomic characteristics to grow well in Scotland and its market needs.

* Linton and Robinson Environmental's innovation which enables small scale AD plants to be completely 'off grid'. The company is based in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

* And to the Truncator trailer tipper, invented by Richard Bowness. This unit makes safe cutting of multiple logs with a chainsaw, plus adds quick and easy loading of cut logs directly into a trailer or container.

Certificates of Commendation:

* Calibrate Inc's heat-pump grain drying system and also Greenans Products' 'Smart bunker', an innovative storage bunker with a spring-loaded side lever which releases stacked product at the bottom of the container.

Commenting on the awards, RHASS' chief steward of technical innovation, Christopher Shepherd, said: "RHASS has a long history of recognising and rewarding excellence.

"Technical innovation is pivotal to the future of Scotland's key industries and because of this, is part of the RHASS Royal Charter, where we support and encourage innovative thinking.

"These awards are an important and influential accolade for manufacturers, distributors, providers and inventors. They provide a prestigious platform to promote new ideas, whether conceived in the farm workshop or on the test benches of multi-national manufacturers.

"Being recognised for these awards is a huge honour and acknowledges the work and commitment necessary to develop new products – the RHASS congratulates them on their outstanding achievements."

Entries were judged on individual merit by a panel of judges from the RHASS board of directors. Judging takes into account user feedback, product features, all information and literature submitted, as well as any sales pitch provided and observations on any working demonstrations witnessed.

Chief steward, Mr Shepherd was joined on the judging panel by WF Arnot, E Brewis, J Mackie, JD McWilliam, N Thomson and JC Warnock.

The awards will be presented at the Royal Highland Show on Saturday, June 24.