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An innovative feeder bucket secured the accolades in the Young Engineer Award which was announced at LAMMA Show.

Stephen Davies, 34, from Four crosses, Mid Wales, won the category for his feeding bucket that grabs silage or a round bale, mixes it with other feeds and distribute it out of the sides, making it an all-in-one machine.

The bucket fits on the front of a telehandler or loader tractor, helping to reduce feeding costs and gives a much smaller, compact and affordable alternative to a diet feeder.

Mr Davies said: I did not expect to win. The other finalists were really good. I am really happy to have won it. It is good to get the product out there. It gives me the confidence to push forward with the company and I know that I am on the right path.

The first machines are going to be for sale in October. There are other machines in the pipeline that I think there is the need for on farms in the UK and across the world.

Since Mr Davies entered the competition, he left his job earlier this year at MX UK to concentrate on setting up his new company, Davies Technology and manufacturing the feeding bucket on a wider scale.

Mr Davies is from a small family farm and had worked as an agricultural engineer since he was 16 years old. By the time he was in his 20s, Mr Davies moved into agricultural sales where he spotted a gap in the market for this type of product.

LAMMA, in association with IAgrE and Househam Sprayers, established this award with the aim of championing an individual or collective of young agricultural engineers who have created or worked on a piece of agricultural machinery, equipment or technology which significantly improves efficiency, profitability or sustainability on-farm.

Robert Willey, managing director of Househam Sprayers, said: It is fantastic to see the ideas that people have come up with. That is why this competition is showing that we have got young people coming through who know how to make a product better and more useful for farms.