Quality Milk Awards: 'This is what we get up for every morning'

In the second instalment of our NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards 2021 series, in association with the National Dairy Council, Kerrygold and Ornua, we meet three more farming families that have made it to the finals of these prestigious annual awards.

From Cork and Wexford we meet the McCarthys, the Banvilles and the Hurleys.

Quality Milk Awards – finalists

McCarthy family

James McCarthy has been immersed in farming from a very young age and remembers waking up early as a small child to help his father out around the farm.

“It’s a hard life, you simply have to love it,” fourth-generation farmer, James says of the path that he has been on for the last 40 years.

The family farm at Rosscarbery, Co. Cork is home to James, his wife, Mary, and two children, Shane and Aoife.

Farming, he says, is a “full-time gig” but he credits his son, Shane, for helping him out full-time on the farm. He has the potential to achieve great things in the future, James says.

James considers milking as his favourite element of dairy farming and takes pride in ensuring his herd is fit and healthy.

A passionate sportsman, he enjoys watching matches in his spare time.

Farm facts

Herd size – 84;
Milk supply – 416,887L;
Total bacteria count (weighted) – 7,000;
Somatic cell count (weighted) – 93;
Butterfat % (weighted) – 4.56%;
Protein percentage (weighted) – 3.66%.

The McCarthy family farm is nominated by Lisavaird Co-op.

Banville family

Patrick Banville lives at Barry’s Cross, Taghmon, Co. Wexford, with his wife Carmel, and children, John, Brian and Orla.

Patrick has been farming the family farm since 1990. The eighth of 11 children, he always showed a huge interest in the farm and spent as much time as he could learning the ropes from his late father, who he describes as being ahead of his time.

“As a child I was always out on the farm with my father. Both he and my grandfather were great stocksmen, and my father was using AI and milk recording ahead of his time.”

Patrick’s grandfather married into the farm in 1919; he was regularly called on in the local area to assist at calvings and cure cases of milk fever.

A lover of the outdoors, Patrick believes he inherited his relatives’ love and gift for caring for animals. The family ethos of working hard at whatever you do in life is still evident today.

“We were all brought up to work hard at whatever you do in life,” he said.

Farm facts

Herd size – 140;
Milk supply – 836,737L;
Total bacteria count (weighted) – 3,000;
Somatic cell count (weighted) – 64;
Butterfat % (weighted) – 4.23%;
Protein percentage (weighted) – 3.52%.

The Banville family farm is nominated by Glanbia Ireland.

Hurley family

“This is what we get up for every morning,” says Tadhg Hurley, whose family farm is located in Bandon, Co. Cork. Living there with him are his wife, Helena, and children, TJ and Charlie.

After working on a number of different farms in west Cork, Tadhg moved home seven years ago and entered into a partnership with his father, Finbarr, who he describes as the “backbone of the farm”.

“It was easy for me to land home and milk the cows – my father had put in the time and effort to put everything in place,” he says.

“All my knowledge and experience have come from my father,” he adds.

Tadhg’s grandfather purchased some land in the area in 1936 – it had a dwelling, a few stalls, and 18 cows.

Tadhg’s father took over the farm and subsequently grew it to the size it is today.

TJ and Charlie, aged four and two, have begun to show a huge interest in the farm and love nothing more than driving in the cows and helping to feed calves with Tadhg.