The International Machinery Manufacturers Awards (IMMAs) kick off again this month, giving manufacturers another chance to show off their cleverest, best-designed and most effective products.

This is the third year these prestigious farm machinery awards will be held in the UK, and the range of machinery continues to widen as more manufacturers take part.

See also: IMMAs give kit makers a chance to shine

The aim is the same as last year – to reward companies that have produced machines that show particular innovation, effectiveness and value.

Also, as last year, it is organised by the Cereals event and supported by the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (AEA), the Royal Agricultural University and Farmers Weekly.

Who can enter?

The scheme is open to all companies that sell farm machinery in the UK, whether the equipment is home-grown or made elsewhere in the world.

There are four categories – cultivations equipment, harvest machinery, sprayers and tractors.

Cultivations equipment could range from ploughs to power harrows, from rolls to strip-till drills. Harvest machinery could include everything from combines to chaser bins and trailers to grain dryers.

Sprayers could include mounted, trailed or self-propelled models and any related equipment such as nozzles, bowsers and nurse tanks.

All machines entered must have been launched in the past 18 months, but they don’t have to have been exhibited at the Cereals event.

Who will be judging?

Prof Dick Godwin, Harper Adams University (soils and cultivation); Prof Toby Mottram, Royal Agricultural University (robotics); Peter Redman (IAgrE); Prof Paul Miller, Niab (sprayer expert); Philip Clappison, 2013 Farmers Weekly Contractor of the Year, and David Cousins, Farmers Weekly machinery editor.

What are the judges looking for?

The independent judging panel will be looking for the most innovative products on the market, using the following criteria: innovation, cost-effectiveness and value.

Prizes will be awarded on the first day of the show, 15 June. The winning machines will be shown on a special stand at the Cereals event being held at Duxford, Cambridgeshire where they can be viewed by farmers.

The New Holland double-cut system came first in the harvesting machinery category in 2015.

When is the closing date?

15 April 2016.

Can farmers nominate machines too?

Yes, just go to the Cereals website, where you can nominate recently purchased machines of your own that you think are particularly praiseworthy.