Grassland Farmer of the Year 2021
The Overall Winner of the Grassland Farmer of the Year 2021 is Colin Doherty, Adare, Co Limerick. The awards recognise and reward the top grassland farmers in the country who are growing and utilising more grass on their farms in a sustainable manner.
Main picture above at the Grassland Farmer of the Year Awards 2021 in Moorepark, Cork were the overall winner Colin Doherty, Adare, Co. Limerick, his parents Brian and Ruth; Sponsors: Eamon O'Reilly, AIB, Liam Woulfe, Grassland Agro; Martin Heydon T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Padraig Walshe, FBD Insurance and Chair of the Teagasc Grass 10 committee; Aidan Brennan, Irish Farmers Journal; Liam Herlihy, Teagasc Chairman and Professor Frank O'Mara, Teagasc Director
The awards are supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with an overall prize fund of €20,000.
The Grassland Farmer of the Year awards are part of the Teagasc Grass10 campaign which is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Teagasc, AIB, FBD Insurance, Grassland Agro and the Irish Farmers Journal. The 1st year of Phase II of the programme has been completed with a continued focus on improving nutrient management and efficiency on farm and clover incorporation.
Category winners:
Young Farmer Category – Philip Tyndall, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford
Mixed Soils Category – Sean O’Donnell, Ballina, Co. Mayo
Clover/Sustainable Farming Category – Brendan Walsh, Cahir, Co. Tipperary
Innovation in Grassland – Brigid Carroll, Gorey, Co. Wexford
Enterprise Category Winners:
Drystock Category – Aidan Maguire, Navan, Co. Meath
Dairy Category – Colin Doherty, Adare, Co. Limerick
Runners-up:
Dairy Enterprise Runner-up - Peter Brophy, Paulstown, Co. Kilkenny
Dairy Enterprise Runner-up - Daniel Rundle, Ardee, Co. Louth
Dairy Enterprise Runner-up - Jim Conway, Cahir, Co. Tipperary
Drystock Enterprise Runner-up - Shane Moore, Athleague, Co. Roscommon
This year there was a focus on clover establishment and management also on sustainability, particularly the environmental footprint and Health and Safety. There was a massive uptake of low emission slurry spreading and protected urea among the contestants. The fact that the average grass growth among the finalists was 13.4 tonnes of Dry Matter per hectare shows that you can be very efficient while also being very sustainable.
The judging panel for the Grassland Farmer of the Year competition consisted of John Maher, Teagasc Grass10; Bryan Doocey, AIB; John O’Loughlin, Grassland Agro; Aidan Brennan, Irish Farmers Journal; Bridget Lynch, Teagasc; Colin Heaney, FBD and Liz Hyland DAFM.
Read more about each of the finalists and the winners here
There will a focus on each of the finalists here on Teagasc Daily over the next few weeks