Five Cork farms are finalists at ‘The Oscars of the Dairy World’
FIVE Cork farms were finalists in this years NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards.
The awards, dubbed ‘ The Oscars of the Dairy World’ celebrate excellence in Irish dairy farming and this year expanded its criteria in the area of sustainable dairy farming to champion farmers committed to caring for their environment. The Hearne family from Rathgormack, Co. Waterford was announced as the top-quality milk producer in the country.
The winners were announced at a special awards ceremony in Dublin following presentations to 13 farming families, representing the very best of Irish dairy, and which was attended by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed.
The Development Award went to Brendan O’Driscoll, Leap, while the Best Technical Knowledge awards went to The Walsh Family, Bandon. The farms of Donovan’s, Cloyne (nominated by Dairygold Co-op), Adam and Valerie Shorten and Family, Enniskeane; Tom, Ellen and Michael Nyhan, Ballineen were also among the 13 farms shortlisted.
John Jordan, CEO Ornua, congratulated all of the finalists. “The pride, passion and dedication of our farmers is the vital ingredient to the success of the Kerrygold brand world-wide,” he said.
For each of the finalist farms, the judges detailed the combined fat and protein percentage for each month of the year, the total volume sold from the farm, the weighted average somatic cell count (SCC) and the total bacteria count (TBC). These results, coupled with additional factors, including evidence of sustainable dairy farming, helped formulate the winning farms.
CEO National Dairy Council Zoë Kavanagh pointed out that “sustainability was firmly on the agenda for us at this year’s awards”.
“Consumers are demanding natural, sustainably produced food and our dairy farmers are well placed to deliver this,” she added. “Irish dairy has one of the lowest carbon footprints internationally, primarily due to the unique grass fed, family based Irish farming system which is extremely efficient and involves less intensive farming. I am proud to represent these excellent food producers today [at the awards ceremony] who, once again, have excelled in producing high quality Irish dairy 365 days a year!”
Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine said the NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards celebrate what is truly special about Ireland – our unique way of farming coupled with the passion our farmers have in producing the best quality milk in the world.
“The environment which we operate in is ever-changing and while we face significant challenges it is important to celebrate our dairy farmers who continue to strive for excellence,” said the minister. “It’s their hard work and dedication that forms the foundation of success for our industry.”