Honorary Good Food Award for Kilkenny farmer

Farmer and National Dairy Council Ambassador Eamon Sheehan, from Bawnlusk in Kilkenny, accepted the Outstanding Contribution to Food Production award at this year’s Good Food Ireland Awards which took place at the K Club in Kildare.

Eamon accepted the award on behalf of Ireland’s 17,500 dairy farmers, the backbone of Ireland’s Agri-food business, boosting our tourism industry and supporting the economy of our rural environments.

“I am really proud to accept this award on behalf of Ireland’s dairy farmers. There has never been a more valuable time to celebrate excellence in dairy farming and highlight the hard work and dedication of some of Ireland’s top dairy food producers,” said Mr Sheehan.

“Our climate and land produces dairy with one of the lowest carbon footprints internationally, primarily due to the unique Irish grass-fed, family-farmed system which is extremely efficient.

“During challenging times people need to have trust in what they know, dairy is nutritious, accessible, and affordable and is recognised as a vital part of people’s diet and general health across the life stages, indispensable to Ireland’s social and economic well-being.”

“This honorary award from Good Food Ireland is to recognise and celebrate the thousands of farmers all over Ireland that provide the primary ingredients for menus and what we eat and drink every day,” said Margaret Jeffares, founder and Managing Director of Good Food Ireland.

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“The farmers who send their milk to the co-ops, who never engage directly with consumers and really are as we see it the unsung heroes of our food industry.

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“On behalf of our Tourism Hospitality businesses and our customers we want to say thank you to farmers and honour them through this award”.

She went on to say, “Farming is a generational legacy and offers an immense cultural contribution to Irish tourism and the wider community”.

The Good Food Ireland Awards took place on Monday 17th April. Guest of honour, Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and teh ceremony was attended by some 300 guests including business owners, Irish and international chefs, buyers, food and drink writers, media and industry leaders.

“Farmers are the driving force behind quality products that people want to purchase and are a key part of a healthy, modern lifestyle - the demand for which just keeps increasing – and yet, as an industry, what we are doing in the area of sustainability simply is not being recognised,” said Zoë Kavanagh, CEO of the National Dairy Council.

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“These awards are unique in the way that they champion Ireland’s primary food producers. Good Food Ireland wants to shine a light on biodiversity at farm level as well as the way producers grow, cultivate, and harvest premium food produce to leading chefs, establishments, and retailers. Now, more than ever, it is important to show all the hard work and innovation that is happening within the Irish farming industry.”

Ireland’s 17,500 dairy farmers work 365 days a year to produce the highest quality dairy produce which is revered all over the world exporting to 191 countries with an €6.2 billion contribution to the economy.
The awards are sponsored by the National Dairy Council, Kerrygold, Irish Farmers Association, Tourism Ireland and Bord Bia.