Three Kilkenny growers among Tirlán Quality Grain Award Winners

ABOVE:  John Fenlon from Goresbridge, Co Kilkenny received the award for Green Feed Barley. Pictured (L to R) were Tirlán Vice-Chairperson Pat Murphy, Award-winner John Fenlon, Kevin Hosey Tirlán FarmLife Branch Manager, Tirlán Director of Agribusiness Ailish Byrne and Agronomist James Hickey. Picture: Finbarr O'Rourke 

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Champion food grade oats growers, John and Ann Deering and their son, Mark, have won the coveted overall Tirlán Quality Grain Award for 2023 and have been singled out for their exceptional attention to detail in growing top quality grains on the family farm.

The Deering family, from Morette near Emo in County Laois, also won the individual Food Grade Oats award for harvest 2023. The champion growers were among 14 top suppliers commended at the highly-competitive Tirlán Quality Grain Awards for 2023 ceremony that took place today, Tuesday, February 20th 2024 in Portlaoise, Co. Laois.

New research from Teagasc on the Tirlán grain pool shows that Irish grain has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world. The research unveiled at the awards is the first of its kind using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology specifically developed for Irish grain on a wide range of commercially-grown Irish cereals. Accounting for straw incorporation, the study showed the net carbon footprint could be close to net zero.

Three Tirlán Quality Grain Awards went to Kilkenny growers. The Green Feed Barley category winner is John Fenlon, Barraghcore, Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny.  The  Seed Barley category winners are Kathleen and James Maher who farm at Ballyspellan, Johnstown, Co. Kilkenny. The Green Feed Beans award went to NBCB Farms, Dunbell, Maddockstown, Co. Kilkenny. Read more in next week's Kilkenny People. Click NEXT for more photographs.