Each year, Agribusiness students at St Paul’s Collegiate School approach the Crocodile Pit to present an innovative Agribusiness idea. The Crocodile Pit consists of staff and business leaders who assess the concept and business idea for market.
The winner of Crocodile Pit gains entry to the National Fieldays Innovations Competition at Mystery Creek to market their design. The second-place getters also secure a spot at Fieldays to promote their innovation. Previous winners have been successful at winning awards at Fieldays for their designs which is what makes the Crocodile Pit competition such a big deal for students at St Paul’s.
The 2023 Crocodile Pit winners
In fourth place – the Bungee Buncher
Students: Guranmol Singh, Alessio Lane, Alex Lin, and Mela Thiara
The Bungee Buncher is primarily used as a farm bungee storage system. It is made of mild steel with a comfortable silicone grip. This product will allow farmers to easily locate lost bungees because they are stored using the Bungee Buncher. It is painted with anti-rust paint and is durable so can withstand what nature throws at it. The product is also animal friendly as it does not cause the cattle or other animals any problems or additional stress.
In third place – the CapraSkin
Students: Lucy O'Meeghan, Mackenzie Lenton, Emma Lobb, and Lachie Mouat
CapraSkin is a sustainable and affordable high-quality lip balm targeted toward those who suffer from dry lips. The ingredients used are beeswax, goat’s milk, cocoa butter, kawakawa oil, honey, and bee venom. Goat’s milk is rich with nutritious hydrating agents such as vitamins A, E & D, fatty acids, cholesterol, and selenium which help improve dry skin and can help people with dry lips due to medication. We value our New Zealand heritage and have chosen to use kawakawa oil which is a plant native to New Zealand keeping our product local. Kawakawa aids hydration and strengthens the skin.
In second place and earning a place at Fieldays – Ratatui Kille 2.0
Students: Poppy Main, Guy Charteris, Jamie Carruthers, and Nikaela Denby-Evans
The Ratatui Kille 2.0 is an innovation of a rat trap that kills rats using bait. It is a design that consists of a pipe with a steel rod inside which holds the bait. When a rat enters the trap, it will eat some of the bait; when the bait is taken away due to the steel rod being filled with bait it will readjust so it is always ready for the next rat. This system is different from what is already on the market because the Ratatui Killer 2.0 makes it easier for people to use it because the refill of the bait is automatic.
Winners and entry to the National Fieldays Innovations Competition – Post Wizard
Students: – Charlie Watson, George Mackintosh, and James Waddell
The Post Wizard is a device that enables farmers and lifestyle block owners to remove fence posts safely and with minimal effort. This device will be designed to remove posts on steep hill country where tractors cannot access, and/or for people who do not have access to tractors and need fence posts pulled out. The device will consist of an adjustable 3-legged tripod to account for uneven surfaces (e.g. steep hill country) which would go over the top of a fence post with a chain to wrap around and is connected to a jack which will then be used to jack the post out of the ground with minimal effort required. The device will use leverage to easily pull the post from the ground.
