Bennettsbridge farmer named Tirlán Quality Grain Supplier of the Year

A Kilkenny farmer proved to be outstanding in his field, as he claimed the coveted Tirlán Quality Grain Supplier of the Year Award for 2022, amid strong competition from across the country following a record harvest. Scroll down to read about the winning grain and click through to see lots more photographs from the awards.

Bennettsbridge-based Green Feed Wheat grower Thomas Butler and his wife, Annabel, were delighted to accept the award from Tirlán chairman John Murphy at a ceremony in the Newpark Hotel, on Monday.

From feed beans to food grade oats, the annual Quality Grain Awards programme recognises the excellence of the top-class Irish crops delivered by Tirlán’s 1,100 growers each year.

The Butlers’ were among 13 top quality suppliers honoured for their dedication and attention to detail in grain production.
Thomas and Annabel, and their two children, run the family farm at Scatorish, near scenic Bennettsbridge. It comprises of 250 acres of tillage along with grassland and woodland - 120 acres of grassland and 60 acres of woodland.

Stand-out winner
There is a strong focus on soil fertility and rotations on the 2022 Quality Grain Award-winning Butler family farm. Thomas and Annabel run a diversified farming operation .
On the tillage side, 90% of crops are established using a plough while about 10% are direct drilled.

In addition to operating a varied rotation of crops, including winter feed barley, spring malting barley, food grade peas, feed beans, and winter or spring oats, they also have a keen interest in heritage wheat varieties. These are used in a local flour milling operation.

It is the wide range of break crops grown on the farm that helped them deliver the perfect conditions for a bumper crop of Green Feed Wheat.
The winning crop averaged a specific weight of 80.8 kph and 11.0% protein at a moisture of 14.1% across 310 tonnes.