News

Six Farmers Short-listed in National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards

Six farmers have been short-listed as finalists in the National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards – the national competition which sets out to identify and reward our top dairy farmer.

National judges for this year’s NDC Quality Milk Awards are 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. In the next phase of the Awards, the judges will assess all of the technical and background data on the 6 finalists alongside a visit and inspection of their farms, in order to select the overall national winner.

It is expected that the final results will be known in early October, with the overall winning farmer set to receive a prize of €5,000 and the NDC 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 or a category prize for liquid milk production if the overall winner is not a liquid milk supplier, or similarily for manufacturing milk production.

The six finalists who have been short-listed for the 2009 National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards are:

Richard Claxton, Colt, Ballyroan, Portlaoise, Co Laois (supplying milk to Glanbia)

Gordan Kingston, Tawnies, Clonakilty, Co Cork (supplying Clona Dairy Products)

Brochan Cocoman, Kilwarden, Kill, Naas, Co Kildare (supplying Glanbia)

Sean & Goretti Leahy, Corran, Waterfall (near) Cork (supplying Bandon Co-op)

Cathal Moran, Curragh Lane, Skeoughousteen, via Borris, Co Kilkenny (supplying Glanbia)

Michael O’Donovan, Gurranes, Ballineen, Co Cork (supplying Lisavaird Co-op)

 

The NDC Quality Milk Awards help to build awareness about the Irish dairy farmers who are behind Irish dairy brands; and create an opportunity to showcase to consumers the top quality of dairy farming in the Republic of Ireland. The Awards also provide a platform at a challenging time for the dairy sector, for co-ops to highlight to their own suppliers the technical requirements, standards and techniques which drive top quality milk production.

NDC Chief Executive Helen Brophy thanked all of the dairy co-ops who took time to select and submit nominations for this year’s awards.

“With the very nature of a competition it is not possible for everyone to win,” said Helen Brophy. “However dairy co-ops who submit their top farmers to represent their entire group of farmer suppliers, have already undertaken a form of short-listing for the awards,” said Ms. Brophy. “We were delighted with the interest in the awards and with the quality of entries received. Therefore we will provide commemorative certificates to all of those other farmers who were nominated, but who did not make the short list on this occasion.”

For further information contact:

Antonina Ni Dhuinn, Progress Communications - 01-2766117 - nina@progresspr.ie