Latest Laois News: Laois Tillage Farmer wins award for his Winter Barley

Bobby Miller’s Winter Barley wins big Glanbia Ireland award

GLANBIA IRELAND QUALITY GRAIN AWARD WINNERS 2021 

WINTER (CASSIA) FEED BARLEY:

Bobby Miller, Rathmore, Stradbally, Co Laois

Bobby Miller farms a combination of owned and rented land at Rathmore near Stradbally in Co Laois. Crops grown on the farm include winter oilseed rape, winter barley, gluten free oats and spring malting barley, all as part of a five-year rotation. All crops are established using a plough-based system. Bobby has begun to increase the use of organic manures on the farm in recent years. Weanling dairy heifers are brought onto the farm over winter to graze on catch crops such as rape and kale. Bobby will be known to many growers as the Chairman on the Irish Grain Growers Group. Attention to detail is a hallmark of Bobby Miller’s farming system and this shines through in the quality and yield of crops produced.

The winning crop had an average specific weight of 70.1kph, 1.4% screenings and 9.7% protein at a moisture of 13.6% across 122 tonnes. 

Bobby’s Glanbia agronomist is Tim Scott.

Premium Oats grower lands Glanbia Ireland 2021 Grain Supplier of the Year Award

KILDARE grain growers Matt and Luke Dempsey have claimed the Glanbia Ireland Grain Supplier of the Year Award for 2021, amid strong competition from across the country following a bumper harvest. 

From barley to beans, the annual awards programme recognises the excellence of the top-class Irish crops delivered by growers each year.

In Co Carlow, Eamon McGrath, from Milford, won the Seed Barley award, while in Co Kilkenny, Eddie Doyle, from Mooncoin, was recognised for his outstanding crop of Green Feed Wheat. Grower Bobby Miller, from Stradbally, Co Laois, landed the Winter (Cassia) Feed Barley award for his crop. 

The overall winners, the Dempsey family from Celbridge in Co Kildare, were amongst 12 suppliers in total who were honoured for their dedication and attention to detail in grain production. 

Matt and Luke Dempsey operate a tillage and beef enterprise, with around 250 acres allocated to cereal crops. 

“We are truly delighted to have been selected for the Grain Supplier of the Year Award. We take great pride in delivering top-class crops and constantly strive to innovate and operate sustainable practices on our farm,” said Matt Dempsey whose Griffenrath Farm Partnership won the Food Grade Oats award with a gluten-free oats crop delivering an average specific weight of 59.3 kph at 15.5% moisture across 240 tonnes. 

“We value the use of break crops in maintaining healthy soil structure on our farm, aiding soil fertility, weed control and overall grain quality. We also benefit from significant yield improvement following the use of a break crop. The organic manure from the beef enterprise also helps maintain soil structure and fertility.”

A range of break crops are grown on the farm, including beans, oats and oilseed rape, allowing for the production of seed wheat and gluten-free oats. “We strongly believe in premium crops as it is important that growers maximise the return from all crops, whilst delivering high quality grains for the end user,” said Matt Dempsey, who is also a columnist and former editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.

Glanbia Co-op Chairman John Murphy said the calibre of the entrants to the awards is a reflection of the hard work, dedication and professionalism displayed throughout the grain sector. “We are extremely proud of our top-class portfolio of grains and the high quality is a direct result of the pride that our growers take in their work each and every day. The weather often takes a toll on farmers, particularly grain growers, and it was good to note the favourable conditions and excellent yields were matched by strong prices for the 2021 harvest.

“We feel it is important to recognise the efforts that growers make to produce top quality grain on a consistent basis and to adopt sustainable practices. It is noticeable that some growers are winning an award for a second or third time in different categories.”

Glanbia Ireland Director of Ingredients, Aoife Murphy, said the state-of-the-art new Innovation Centre has delivered enhanced opportunities for our strong portfolio of quality grains. 

“We are expanding our portfolio of solutions to include organic oatmeal which is in response to growing consumer demand in this area. Our closed loop supply chain is a real unique selling point for our customers. 

“We are also continuing to innovate with our oats ingredients in line with evolving trends in the plant-based category. As a direct response to these market trends, we recently launched a range of oat-based cheese alternatives targeted at foodservice and at food industry manufacturers,” she said.  

As the largest buyer and user of Irish grains, Glanbia Ireland’s green grain intake increased to over 190,000 tonnes for 2021, with excellent yields and strong prices for crops. Glanbia Ireland’s grain and ingredients teams have focused strongly on value-added premium crops, with over €2 million in premiums paid over and above the feed price to farmers for last year’s harvest. 

Glanbia Ireland Quality Grain Awards – category winners 2021