There were a number of Tipperary winners at the annual Teagasc Grassland awards.
Now in its fifth year 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.
The Overall Winner was Colin Doherty from Adare, Co Limerick.
Cahir based Brendan Walsh took the honours in the Clover/Sustainable Farming Category while Jim Conway – again from Cahir – was runner up in the Dairy Enterprise category.
Speaking at yesterday’s awards ceremony, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon T.D. congratulated all of the 10 finalists on their achievements in grassland management. He said; “As finalists you are joining a group of top class grassland farmers, and I would particularly like to congratulate Colin Doherty on winning the overall Grassland Farmer of the Year Award. It’s an achievement you can be really proud of. It is clear that initiatives such as Grass10 and the Grassland Farmer of the Year are to the fore in helping farmers achieve the most they can from the natural resource they have on their farm, which is grass.”
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.
