March 22, 2012 — The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and AG CONNECT Expo will introduce Gold and Silver innovation awards at the opening ceremonies of AG CONNECT Expo 2013. These awards are a new level of recognition for ASABE's AE50 Awards, which recognize vital industry contributions.

AG CONNECT Expo 2013 is scheduled for January 29-31 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The event is a world-class trade show, offering not only the latest innovations, products, services, and technology and access to industry experts, but also quality learning and networking opportunities.

"The AE50 awards are an excellent fit with AG CONNECT Expo because the AE50 awards celebrate product innovations in the areas of agriculture, food, and biological systems as AG CONNECT Expo does," said Tim Merrett, vice president region 4 marketing for Deere & Company and chair of the AG CONNECT Expo Management Committee. "High-tech applications for agriculture have never been more vital than they are now; we are just as excited about having the AE50 awards at AG CONNECT Expo in 2013 as we were with having the awards at the show in 2010 and 2011," he said.

The AE50 awards are officially part of the Agriculture Equipment Technology Conference (AETC), ASABE's annual conference, which is co-located with AG CONNECT Expo and will be held January 28, 2013.

Beginning with the 2013 edition of AG CONNECT Expo in Kansas City, ASABE is partnering with the show and its owner, Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM ), to honor the "best of the best" from among the products selected for the annual AE50 Awards. From the many entries submitted each year, an expert panel of engineers selects up to 50 products for recognition.

Formal presentation of the AE50 Awards will occur January 28, 2013 at AETC, and the AE50 Gold and Silver awards will be presented at opening ceremonies for AG CONNECT Expo on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. These awards will also be highlighted in a special display at the show.

For the Gold and Silver awards, a panel of agricultural equipment editors from leading farm publications along with ASABE member engineers will select the recipients from the previous two years of AE50 award winners. To qualify for a Gold or Silver award, the company must be a 2013 AG CONNECT exhibitor. The special awards will be presented every two years in conjunction with the biennial AG CONNECT Expo.

The deadline for submissions to the AE50 Awards program is September 13, 2012. To qualify, products must have first been made available for purchase or ordering during the 2012 calendar year. You'll find the details here.

For more information about ASABE's AE50 Award program, please contact Sandy Rutter (tel: 269-932-7004, rutter@asabe.org).