Dairygold milk supplier Edward Donovan from Cloyne, east Cork, was declared the overall winner of the 2018 Dairygold Milk Quality Awards.
The awards, which took place at Springfort Hall Hotel in Mallow on Thursday night, May 23, also saw Edward take home the East Cork Regional Award for consistently supplying the best quality milk to Dairygold throughout 2018.
Edward farms in Cloyne with his wife Breda and started milking in January 2014 as a new entrant to dairying, working alongside his father John.
Edward currently milks 203 cows from a grazing platform of 79ha. He is also active in the local community as a member of the Midleton Young Farmers discussion group.
L-R: Dr. Karina Pierce, UCD; John O’Gorman, chairman, Dairygold; John O’Sullivan, Dairygold board member; East Cork Region winners and overall winners Edward and Breda Donovan; Zoe Kavanagh, National Dairy Council; Edmund Lynch, vice chairman, Dairygold; Maeve O’Connor, Dairygold; and Don Crowley, Teagasc. Image source: O’Gorman Photography
The judges declared that while all three finalists in the region demonstrated exceptional quality, the Donovan farm was an excellent example of what good management and high standards of production can achieve.
They praised the Donovans for their focus on farm efficiency and their performance in cow fertility and milk output.
For the first time in its history the awards also recognised the efforts of Dairygold’s milk suppliers in making their operations more economically and environmentally sustainable with the awarding of the Sustainability Award.
The awards were based on 2018 milk quality data for all 2,800 Dairygold milk suppliers across counties Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. A shortlist was drawn up of three suppliers from each of the six Dairygold regions.
These 18 finalists underwent adjudication by two independent judges; Dr Karina Pierce, University College Dublin and Don Crowley, Teagasc dairy specialist.
The judges visited all 18 shortlisted farms to review their farm enterprises first hand. The review took account of Milk Quality, Dairy Facilities, Herd Health and Welfare, Sustainability and General Efficiencies and Farm Health and Safety.
- Limerick Region winner: Pierce Breen, Newtown, Pallasgreen, Co. Limerick;
- East Cork Region winner: Edward Donovan, Ballybrannagh, Cloyne, Co. Cork;
- Mallow Region winner: Timmy Lyons, Carhue, Berrings, Co. Cork;
- Mid Cork Region winner: Pat Cronin, Cahirkereen, Kilnamartyra, Macroom, Co. Cork;
- Mitchelstown Region winner: Ned O’Brien, Carrigane, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork; and
- Tipperary Region winner: Maurice and David Hally, Clogharden, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.
Addressing the award ceremony Dairygold chairman John O’Gorman said: “Our Milk Quality Awards are an excellent opportunity for us to reward the hard work and performance that we see all year across our milk supplier base.
“We want to continue rewarding our suppliers for their excellent milk quality supply while also ensuring the sustainability and longevity of our industry.
“In January, we introduced a new milk supplier sustainability bonus, designed to deliver healthier herds with more productive cows.
“Edward has shown how someone relatively new to the industry can use best practice to produce the best results from his herd.”
Dairygold chief executive Jim Woulfe added: “The average Dairygold milk supplier is now delivering milk with 3.53% protein and 4.17% fat.
At those solids a farmer can earn 4.3c/L more than a farmer delivering milk with the national average fat and protein.
“Edward has demonstrated how you can get the best from your herd by focusing on the key areas such as hygiene, herd health and sustainability and this award win is very much deserved,” Woulfe concluded.