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.
Two Wexford-based growers were among the Tirlán Quality Grain Award winners. The Green Feed Wheat category winner is David O’Dwyer who farms at Heathpark, Newbawn, Co. Wexford. The Seed Wheat award went to Ballingale Farms Ltd, Ballingale, Ferns, Co. Wexford.
David O’Dwyer farms 460 acres in total, 420 tillage, 40 grass. Crops grown are winter wheat, spring wheat, gluten free oats, food grade oats, spring malting barley, spring seed barley, spring beans, spring oilseed rape and forage maize.
Excellent rotations are practiced to maximise the area of break crops to facilitate the growing of crops which attract a premium, for example gluten free oats.
The growing of break crops such as spring beans also facilitates the use of alternatives chemistry to control weeds such as wild oats. David runs the farm with his son Luke, his wife, Louise, and daughter Grace and second son, Rory.
David is a member of the Tirlán Regional Committee in South Wexford and a member of the Tirlán Council, as well as sitting on the Tirlán Grain Committee. The winning crop averaged a specific weight of 78.0 kph and 10.2% protein at a moisture of 18.9% across 294 tonnes. This was a crop of spring wheat. David’s Tirlán agronomist is Ed Prendergast.
The Seed Wheat category winner is Ballingale Farms, a tillage farm run by Martin and Jamie Whelan, near Ballycarney, Co Wexford. The Whelans operate a plough-based system for establishing crops on their mainly medium soils.
A wide range of crops are grown annually, such as malting barley, seed winter wheat, seed spring wheat, feed winter wheat, spring beans and fodder beet. Vegetables are also part of the rotation through land swaps with a neighbour adding to area of break crops.
The large area of break crops grown is key to the Whelan’s ability to grow high-quality cereals such as seed wheat for Tirlán every year. The quality of the tillage work carried out, such ploughing and pressing of the land, is very important to the Whelans and shows through in the crop establishment and subsequent yields.
The winning crop of Dawsum winter wheat had an average specific weight of 77.7kph and 10.2% protein at 17.3% moisture across 128 tonnes. The Whelans’ Tirlán agronomist is Tom Hession.
Addressing the Awards, Martin Heydon T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Research and Development, Farm Safety and New Market Development, commended the award-winning growers on their dedication to delivering the highest quality grain, while also farming sustainably.
“I congratulate today’s 14 champion growers on their quality produce and commend Tirlán for its continued investment in research and development at its Innovation Centre in Ballyragget which I’ve visited previously and at its high-spec Oat Mill here in Portlaoise.
“In what was a difficult year for weather conditions, Tirlán’s growers produced top quality grains on farms across this catchment, as showcased here today. They take immense pride in what they do, how they farm, how they nurture and respect the land. This dedication, passion and commitment to sustainability is what sets Irish grains apart, as evidenced by the research work unveiled here today. We continue to strive to find new markets and add value to this quality Irish produce.”
John Murphy, Tirlán Chairperson and Wexford native, said it was one of the most challenging years in living memory for grains but commended Tirlán’s 1,100 plus growers on the resilience they’ve shown. “The commitment to quality and passion shown by the award winning growers, coupled with the sustainability credentials of the crops, bodes well for the future of Irish grain.
“As the largest buyer and user of premium Irish grains, Tirlán is investing in the future of Irish grain. Tirlán paid our growers almost €3 million in additional bonuses last year, specifically for premium grains. And in spite of the exceptionally challenging weather, we doubled our gluten-free oats intake last year.
“We’ve built strong capabilities in our Oat Mill in Portlaoise and in R&D with a view to maximising returns for our farm families. We continue to expand our plant-based offerings and we’re evolving our portfolio to meet growing global demand in key markets such as North America, Europe and Asia where demand for sustainably produced, fully traceable product made from quality Irish grains continues to grow. Our new Avonmore Oat Drinks are performing very well in Ireland and the Asian market, and we recently launched a new Truly Oat beverage range into the US market.
“As plans for harvest 2024 continue, we remain committed to facilitating sustainable growth in the grain sector, in line with Government ambitions. Our grains team are out working with our valued growers, assessing and harnessing regenerative agriculture practices on farms and continuously improving the sustainability credentials of the premium portfolio.”
