Revealed: Kilkenny man is named Farmer of Year

 Edward Delahunty who farms with his father Martin in Freshford, Co.  Kilkenny  has been awarded the 2025 Irish Hereford Prime Farmer of the Year title.

A long-term Irish Hereford Prime beef producer and a strong advocate for the commercial benefits of the Hereford breed, makes Edward a worthy winner of this annual award.

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Married to Lucy, with three children, son Conor and daughters Oliva and Eve and having a successful contracting business, with a mix of dairy, tillage and beef enterprises means the Delahuntys rely on their strong team of staff and family members to function efficiently and effectively.

BELOW: Edward Delahunty with his wife Lucy and children Conor, Oliva and Eve

Originally a winter milking herd, with one hundred dairy cows on the milking platform, they are a 70% Holstein - 30% Friesian type cow which are achieving 6,500 litres on average with 520kg milk solids. This Spring will see Edward’s herd become a fully Spring calving only herd.  

In terms of sire selection, the Delahunty’s buy in all their replacement heifers which in turn allows them to run three Hereford stock bulls on their farm. Rotating one bull at every milking and running one with replacement heifers. When Edward goes to purchase a new Hereford stock bull, he says that he looks at the animal first and foremost but then looks at its figures also. Interestingly, two of the bulls on the farm that sired the 2025 born calves showed impressive Carcass Weight figures on the ICBF Indexes at +24kg and +16.3kg for carcass.

Edward uses a Hereford bull over other traditional breeds as he believes they are about 10% heavier at finish when reared through his system. His opinion on the Hereford breed is very positive, and he believes there will be more Herefords born in Ireland in the coming years. Edward runs a considerable agricultural contracting business and has his own tillage enterprise. For this reason, the Delahuntys use 100% stock bulls on their farm due to the busy Spring that they tend to encounter every year.

Edward also buys in thirty to forty Hereford cross calves, both male and female from neighbouring farmers every year. He brings all stock through to finish, and with the average value of each animal having increased by approximately €800 more due to the rise in beef prices, this has boosted the profitability of his beef enterprise significantly. He mentions that the late spring in 2024 and the resulting late turnout caused the carcass weights of his cattle in 2025 to be 13kg less than those achieved in 2024. Click the next page arrow to read more...