News

National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards Launched

Search Starts for Ireland’s Top Dairy Farmer

Irish dairy farmers will have a new opportunity to compete for the “Sam Maguire of farming” with the launch of the National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards, which set out to identify and reward high standards of milk production. Dairy co-ops throughout the Republic of Ireland have been invited to nominate their top Irish dairy farmers for this year’s award by 22nd June, 2009.

“The National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards will help to build awareness about the Irish dairy farmers who are behind Irish dairy brands; and will create an opportunity to showcase to consumers the top quality of dairy farming in the Republic of Ireland,” says Dominic Cronin, Chairman of the National Dairy Council.

“From a farming perspective, these Awards will also provide a platform for co-ops to highlight to their own suppliers the technical requirements, standards and techniques which drive top quality milk production.”

Dominic Cronin says that consultation about the concept revealed strong support from the industry for the return of these Awards, which ran very successfully in Ireland until it lost its main sponsor, with the perpetual trophy described as the “Sam Maguire of Farming” by Alan Gillis when he won the former title in 1986.

Judging Panel & Top Prize Announced

National judges for the NDC Awards will include Professor Paddy Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health at UCD; Dr David Gleeson, Milk Quality Research, Teagasc; and Jack Kennedy, Dairy Editor, Irish Farmers' Journal.

The overall winning farmer will receive a prize of €5,000 and the National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards perpetual trophy. It is also at the discretion of the judges each year to select whether category prizes will be awarded – for instance in areas such as care of the environment or best family/small farm.

Submitting Nominations

Co-ops may nominate farmers living in and farming in the Republic of Ireland who are producing liquid or manufacturing milk. The minimum qualifying standard for entry is average TBC 20,000 or less/ml; and average SCC 250,000 or less/ml with no count over 400,000 ml in any given month of the year in question. Further information about rules and the number of nominees which can be submitted by dairy co-ops are published in full on the entry forms.

Entry forms have been distributed to dairy co-ops, with a closing date of 22nd June 2009 for nominations by co-ops for this year’s awards. Additional copies of the entry forms are available to co-ops from the NDC by calling 01-616 9726 or the forms can be printed directly by clicking on the following - 2009 Entry Form and 2009 On-Farm Checklist .

The judges will initially select a shortlist based on the entry form details of no more than 6 finalists. The judges will then visit and judge the farms of the finalists in order to select the overall national winner.

For further information please contact: Antonina Ni Dhuinn, Progress Communications - 01-276 6117