Can Westmeath win the farming Sam Maguire?

A Horseleap farmer is among fourteen short listed as national finalists for the 2013 National Dairy Council & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards.   The competition, which sets out to highlight and reward Irish dairy farming excellence, has been described as 'The Sam Maguire of Farming’.

David Boland, Cartron’s Glebe, Horseleap, supplies milk to Aurivo, and was chosen as the sole Midlands representative on the 14-strong short list.

The short listed farms receive inspection visits from all three members of the expert judging panel - Professor Paddy Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health at UCD; Dr. Jack Kennedy, Dairy Editor, Irish Farmers Journal; and Dr David Gleeson, Milk Quality Research, Teagasc.

The judges will extensively scrutinize technical information and farm management practices supporting each farm’s consistently excellent quality milk standards.  They will also assess aspects of contemporary dairy farming ranging from sustainability and animal welfare to care of the environment.
  

It is expected that the results will be announced on 21st October, with the overall winning farmer set to receive a prize of €5,000 and the NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards perpetual trophy.  

Competition updates and results when available will be posted to www.qualitymilkawards.ie .