Flahavan’s has announced the winners of its ‘Oat Grower of the Year Award 2023’. Two separate winners were selected for the categories: Conventional Oat Growers and Organic Oat Growers.
Independent judging was carried out by agronomist and cereals specialist, Jim O’Mahony, who said that all shortlisted growers and winners in both categories produced top quality oats grown with consideration for the environment.
Growers were assessed on the basis of overall grain quality, taking into account kernel content; bushel weight; moisture levels; aroma; flavour; colour and cleanliness.
Growers were then shortlisted and interviewed, before identifying just three finalists from each category.
The finalists were assessed on the basis of grower excellence, which included cereal knowledge, farm practice and technique as well as environmental sustainability, with an overall winner selected from each group.
Flahavan’s winners
The winners in the conventional oats category were the Keane family of Cappoquin Estate, Co. Waterford.
Charles Keane was one of the first Irish growers to introduce tramlines to Irish cereal growing in the 1980s.
Farm manager John Collins looked after the tillage operations on the estate since the 1980s and protects the environment through building hedgerows and using buffer zones as well as planting native tree species on nearby land.
Padraig Connery from Villierstown Cappoquin was runner-up in the category.
Connery grows a range of crops including winter oats, winter wheat, winter and spring barley and spring beans.
Connery uses soil tests regularly to decide his nutrition/fertiliser programme and uses pig and cattle slurry to cut down on chemical fertilisers.
The overall winner in the organic oats category was announced as Evan Delaney, who has been farming tillage crops plus a small area for livestock with his family at Red City, Fethard, Co. Tipperary.
Delaney has an organic feed business in conjunction with his organic cropping programme.
He is a leader in the organic movement and is a member of the Limerick-Tipperary organic group. His farm is used by both Irish Organic Association and Teagasc for knowledge transfer.
Eoghan O’Sullivan from Roseville, Donohill, Tipperary town was named runner-up in this category. He is relatively new in tillage and was praised by the judge for his “simple system”.
Operations manager at Flahavan’s, Johnny Flahavan said:
“While 2023 has been a difficult year for growers across the country, the standard of oats supplied to Flahavan’s is consistently excellent and we’re particularly delighted to see that so many of our suppliers are introducing more and more environmentally sustainable practices into their farming.”