LAMMA Innovation Awards 2025: Announcing the Winners

SmaXtec Limited – Digital Assistant  

The smaXtec Digital Assistant revolutionizes dairy herd health management through AI-driven insights and bolus technology, offering unparalleled precision by collecting data from inside the cow's reticulum. This system enables proactive, efficient, and transparent health management for dairy farmers. Acting as a virtual farm employee, the Digital Assistant generates automated management lists and customised reports, simplifying daily tasks. It helps farmers act early by providing health alerts and disease notifications, like ketosis or mastitis, through its AI-powered TruAdvice™ system. Farmers save time with automatically categorised data and easy-to-read action plans, viewable on smartphones or PCs. 

The system streamlines workflows, optimises staff management, and ensures even less experienced employees can follow clear, actionable steps. It supports decision-making by guiding farmers on where to focus efforts for each animal. For example, cows with temperature alerts are flagged with specific instructions, like performing a California Mastitis Test. Farmers worldwide, including those managing herds as large as 3,500 cows, praise the Digital Assistant for improving efficiency and organisation. This innovation reduces resource use, minimises antibiotics, and promotes sustainable farming practices. By enhancing herd health and farm operations, smaXtec’s technology ensures happier, healthier cows, better-quality milk, and increased profitability. 

RST Irrigation Ltd – Raindancer Sector Control  

Raindancer is a GPS-enabled, solar-powered irrigation monitoring system designed to maximise water efficiency for farmers. Its Sector Control technology ensures irrigation is applied only within field boundaries, avoiding wooded areas and other non-crop zones. By providing even water distribution across the crop and addressing typically under-irrigated areas, Raindancer optimises irrigation performance. 

Developed over four years, including two years of in-field software and app refinement, the system delivers precise insights on irrigation runs. It tracks how much water has been applied and alerts users to faults, ensuring smooth operations. Manufactured in Berlin and exclusively imported to the UK, Raindancer integrates seamlessly with the accompanying gun sector for enhanced performance. 

With over 3,000 Sector Control units sold in the past two years, Raindancer has proven its value in modern farming. Ongoing software development and app enhancements promise to further streamline its usability and functionality. By reducing water waste and improving irrigation efficiency, Raindancer supports sustainable agricultural practices, making it an essential tool for farmers aiming to conserve resources and enhance productivity. 

Kverneland - Kverneland Curve Pilot  

The Kverneland Curve Pilot is an innovative feature integrated into the Kverneland ISOBUS triple mower conditioner, the 55100MT. This advanced technology enhances efficiency and cutting precision by automatically controlling the side shift of the rear mowing units to minimise gaps between the front and rear cutting units when navigating curves. 

The system utilises a gyroscope mounted on the mower’s headstock to detect steering angles. Based on this input, it adjusts the rear cutting units by up to 400mm, ensuring optimal alignment and maximising the mower's full working width. This reduces the need for manual operator adjustments, allowing for higher work rates and improved productivity. 

Designed to streamline operations, the Curve Pilot feature supports operators by reducing workload while delivering precise results. Manufactured at Kverneland Group Kerteminde in Denmark, this cutting-edge system represents a significant leap in mower technology. 

Set to launch at Lamma 2025, the Curve Pilot is expected to extend to additional models within the Kverneland range, further enhancing its impact on grassland management. With its ability to improve efficiency and reduce operator effort, this innovation is poised to become a valuable tool for modern farming. 

KUHN FARM MACHINERY (UK) Ltd – Smart Soil Technology  

The OPTIMER 6 and 7.5 metre independent disc cultivators have been enhanced with ISOBUS-integrated Smart Soil Technology (SST), delivering greater efficiency, comfort, and productivity. 

Steady Control Ultimate ensures consistent working depth across uneven terrain by automatically adjusting ground tracking. Pressure and position sensors work with a computer to manage settings without manual intervention, even at high speeds. The AUTO-LINE function keeps the machine aligned behind the tractor, adapting to slopes, soil types, and depth changes. A central coulter measures drift angles, and hydraulic actuators adjust disc positions to maintain uniform performance. 

The task controller simplifies operation by automating headland turns and enabling depth modulation using preloaded maps. The system also ensures safe transport through automatic folding. These innovations result in uniform stubble ploughing with consistent depth and reduced overlaps, improving soil preparation and enhancing crop germination. 

Smart Soil Technology reduces fuel consumption by avoiding over-deep cultivation, lowering operational costs while maintaining optimal performance. Full in-cab control eliminates the need for manual adjustments, enhancing operator comfort. Now in production, this cutting-edge technology addresses the growing focus on soil health, ensuring long-term benefits for sustainable farming while meeting all safety standards. 

Agri Samplers Ltd and Polygenyn Ltd – DNA Auto Spore Sampler: An early warning system for the detection of airborne plant pathogens  

The DNA and LFD Auto Spore Sampler, developed by Agri Samplers Ltd and Polygenyn Ltd, offers real-time detection of airborne pathogens for up to 8 days without human intervention. It captures 200 litres of air per minute, collects fungal spores and bacteria, and analyses their DNA using fluorescence to quantify pathogen-specific markers. Alerts are sent to growers via SMS and the SpraySaver portal, enabling timely intervention. The device monitors within a 5-mile radius, protecting multiple crops. 

Currently capable of detecting pathogens like potato late blight, rusts, Septoria, and grape powdery mildew, it reduces unnecessary spraying, saving £60 per acre per spray and lowering environmental harm. A next-generation portable version, PathoScout, under development, will enable on-site pathogen detection within 60 minutes. This system, created in collaboration with Rothamsted Research, bridges the gap in field-based automated spore analysis. It supports ecological sustainability by reducing fungicide use by 5-20% and increasing yields by 1-10%. Additional applications include pollen monitoring, hospital bacteria detection, and forensic analysis. 

The sampler enhances crop protection, research efficiency, and pesticide development, contributing to sustainable farming and environmental balance. Projected sales exceed £3 million within five years, revolutionising agricultural practices and supporting smart farming technologies. 

Fendt – Fendt 600 Series  

The Fendt 600 Series redefines the mid-range tractor market with its combination of advanced technology, operator comfort, and efficiency. Offering four models (164–224hp), it incorporates innovations from larger Fendt tractors, tailored for UK and Irish farmers, where 62% of Fendt sales in 2023 were in the 130–220hp range. 

At its core is the newly developed AGCO CORE50 engine, a 5L, 4-cylinder powerhouse delivering higher torque (+30Nm) than the larger 720 model, thanks to Fendt’s reduced RPM strategy. Designed for future fuels, it integrates seamlessly with the tractor’s engineering for maximum efficiency. The Dynamic Performance feature provides an extra 15hp for auxiliary tasks, ensuring operators can fully utilise the stated horsepower. 

The TA150 VarioDrive transmission simplifies operation by automatically distributing power between front and rear axles, improving turning, reducing soil damage, and eliminating traditional 4WD controls. Hydraulics are upgraded for versatility, offering up to 205L/min and multiple valve configurations without compromising loader performance. 

Featuring the FendtOne cab, it combines comfort with an intuitive, iPad-style interface, standardising controls across the Fendt lineup. Innovations like VarioGrip tire pressure management enhance productivity, saving diesel and increasing tractive power. Compact yet powerful, the Fendt 600 Series offers unmatched flexibility, making it ideal for farming businesses of all sizes. 

Knight Farm Machinery Limited – Smart-Inject 

Smart-Inject is a groundbreaking chemical injection system designed to revolutionise agricultural spraying by enhancing precision and reducing environmental impact. Unlike traditional systems, Smart-Inject integrates directly between a sprayer's nozzle body and air-stop/PWM valve, allowing retrofitting to most existing sprayers. This innovation delivers concentrated chemicals via independent micro-pipework, separate from the main spray tank, enabling precise spot spraying without interfering with the base application. 

When an area requiring treatment is detected, Smart-Inject injects the chemical directly into the diluted spray stream at the nozzle, ensuring immediate and accurate application. This approach minimises chemical usage, lowers costs, and significantly reduces the environmental impact of plant protection products. 

Developed to support growers transitioning from broadacre methods to optical weed recognition and targeted spraying, Smart-Inject aligns with both environmental and financial goals. Its patent-pending design is the first to inject chemicals directly at the nozzle, ensuring unparalleled precision and efficiency. Aimed at the global crop protection market, Smart-Inject holds the potential for widespread adoption across agriculture, forestry, municipal, and industrial applications. As a game-changing innovation, it offers long-term benefits to growers, consumers, and the environment, addressing the critical balance between food production and sustainable practices. 

Weaving Machinery  

Over the past five years, Weaving Machinery has revolutionised agricultural equipment through innovative product development and sustainability efforts. With a focus on low-disturbance farming, the company has launched several key products, including the Weaving Sabre Drill (2020), which gained national acclaim, partly due to its regular feature on Clarkson’s Farm. Complementing this success, the Lynx Drill (2023) and next-generation Mounted GD Disc Drill (2023) have solidified Weaving Machinery's reputation in both the UK and Europe. 

The company’s cultivator range, including the ShortDisc, LD Top-Soiler, and Energiser, has addressed critical issues in British agriculture, enhancing soil health and drainage. This innovation has driven significant sales growth, with exports expanding to new markets like Germany, Brazil, and Switzerland. Strategic reinvestment in operations, including new facilities and modern manufacturing technologies, has bolstered production and reinforced the company’s commitment to quality. 

Weaving Machinery’s sustainability initiatives, such as installing solar panels, upgrading to efficient lighting, and introducing electric vehicles, reflect its dedication to minimising environmental impact. The company also supports future talent through collaborations with educational institutions, offering placements and work experience. With a strong focus on innovation, sustainability, and skill development, Weaving Machinery continues to lead in the agricultural machinery sector.