John named tillage farmer of the year
A Ballymurn farmer has gained major national recognition after being awarded Tillage Farmer of the Year at the Zurich Insurance Farmer of the Year Awards. John Cullen was presented with his award at a lavish ceremony in the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone recently and he was both stunned and delighted to have been selected.
A family owned company, John Cullen Grain has been trading since 2005 from Ballymurn. John followed in the footsteps of his father who was a tillage farmer and agricultural contractor in the Enniscorthy area for many years. Along with his wife Karen, he opened a new state of the art milling facility last year and the company has been going from strength to strength since.
With farmers from all over the country vying for a total of six farming categories, the level of competition was extremely high and John was over the moon when his name was called out by host Helen Carroll of RTÉ’s ‘Ear to the Ground’.
Over 180 people were present to see John take the top prize, which includes a cash prize of €2,000, and his family were also on hand to help him celebrate. ‘Tonight’s winners have set themselves apart in their categories and we’re proud to help recognise their accomplishments,’ said Graham Minogue from Zurich. ‘I would like to sincerely congratulate John Cullen, in particular, as well as each and every one of those who were short-listed.’