FRANKFURT/MAIN, Germany, September 7, 2016 – The DLG (German Agricultural Society) is renaming its EuroTier innovation award scheme and making changes to how the awards are presented to increase their public profile. The new name "Innovation Award EuroTier 2016" is accompanied by a new logo design that not only underlines the international importance of the innovations rewarded, but also positions the winning products or services as high-quality examples of entrepreneurial prowess.

DLG has already appointed an independent, international jury, comprising industry experts from Turkey, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, to evaluate all the candidates according to stringent criteria. The names of award winners, who will receive either Gold or Silver awards, will be published at an international press conference held in Germany on 21st September 2016. A concept that introduces a new process, or substantially improves an existing process at a fundamental level, will be awarded a Gold Medal for innovation; while Silver Medals are given for a product development that results in a substantial improvement of a function or process.
 
The final Gold and Silver award winners will not be made public until the eve of EuroTier, when they will be presented during a new opening ceremony for the event. Taking place on 14 November 2016 at Hanover's exhibition grounds in Germany, this will be the first time that the opening ceremony has taken place before the fair gets underway.

With 251 innovation candiates from a total of 167 companies from 21 countries, the position of EuroTier as the world's largest innovation showcase for machinery, equipment, housing and services for the professional animal producers is assured. This number of entries represents a new all-time high for EuroTier, and it is especially noteworthy that about half of the innovation submissions have come from companies based outside Germany.

The innovation entries cover most product areas from the livestock sector. The most submissions have been made in the fields of management and feeding technology for pigs; management and feeding technology for cattle; farm inputs and farm input application systems; controlled environment and environment technology; and equipment, accessories and spare parts.

EuroTier takes place from 15th to 18th November 2016 at Hanover's exhibition grounds. This year's event is expected to attract more than 2,500 exhibitors from 56 countries. EuroTier 2014 was attended by about 156,500 visitors.