The six finalists bidding to become the 2023 FBD Young Farmer of the Year have been announced today (Tuesday, August 22).
In a statement, Macra said that the final six contestants will now compete for the overall title of FBD Young Farmer of the Year.
The six finalists include:
- Dwayne Shiels, a sheep farmer from Co. Donegal;
- Stephen O Keeffe, a dairy farmer from Co. Limerick;
- Conor Doran, a tillage farmer from Co. Wexford;
- Sean Kelly, a dairy farmer from Co. Tipperary;
- Patrick Egan, a beef and sheep farmer from Co. Mayo;
- Philip Tallon, a apple farmer from Co. Meath.
Category winners and the overall winner will be announced tonight at the FBD Young Farmer of the Year Awards at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Co. Sligo.
The overall winner of this year’s competition will take home a prize of €5,000.
Each category winner and the Emerging Young Farmer will also take home €1,000.
FBD will also award €250 to any Macra members who reach the finals of this year’s competition. Each winner will also receive vouchers from the FBD Hotel Group and FBD Insurance.
FBD Young Farmer of the Year
Now in its 25th year, the FBD Young Farmer of the Year competition aims to raise the profile of young farmers by awarding their “achievements and contribution to farming”.
The 2023 competition features a wide range of category awards including:
- Dairy;
- Drystock (beef and sheep);
- Other enterprises (including horticulture, pigs, poultry, tillage, equine);
- Land Mobility;
- Farm Management.
This year will also feature awards for the Best Emerging Young Farmer and the National Rural Network Biodiversity Farmer of the Year.
The winners of each of these categories will then go forward to compete to be the overall 2023 FBD Young Farmer of the Year.
The awards, run by Macra, are sponsored by FBD and are also supported by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the National Rural Network.