Deadline: 27-Aug-22
Teagasc is currently accepting applications for the Grassland Farmer of the Year (GFOTY) Competition to promote grassland excellence among all Irish livestock farmers.
The competition will recognise those farmers who are achieving high levels of grass utilisation in a sustainable manner. Irish agriculture faces serious challenges in trying to meet Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia emissions targets. Improved Nutrient Management and the use of clover are now more important than ever. The sustainability of our livestock production must improve.
Some farmers have to operate with difficult land and the competition will recognise this challenge. Pasture performance is critical to the success of organic farming, there is a category for organic farmers.
Competition Focus: Applicants should have established the level of grass production on their farm. Applicants will be pre-judged on previous grass production data. A knowledge of farm soil fertility is essential. The sustainability of the grass-based system of production will be assessed. The necessary grazing infrastructure on each farm will also be a focus for this competition.
Categories
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Enterprise category awards:
- Dairy
- Drystock
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Other category awards:
- Clover/sustainable farming
- Heavy soils/Disadvantaged Land
- Innovation
- Young Farmer (under 30 years)
- Organic Farmer
Note: The young farmer category can include entrants that are farm managers or farming in a collaborative arrangement.
Award Details
- There will be an overall award and many other category winners. The competition has a number of categories with an overall prize fund of €25,000
- Awards: Nine prizes will be awarded
- There will be awards for the runners up of the main categories. Each category winner will receive €3,000. The Innovation award winner prize is €1,000. The overall winner will be selected from the category winners and will receive an additional €2,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- The competition is open to all livestock farmers in the Republic of Ireland.
- Preliminary judging will be based on the information submitted on the application form and information from Teagasc, Bord Bia & Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine systems.
- Final judging will involve a panel of judges visiting farms.
- In the event of winning, the winning farmers are obliged to allow reasonable media coverage, to participate in the awards ceremony, host an Open Day on their farm to demonstrate the high levels of grass production and utilisation achieved in a sustainable manner, and participate in relevant promotional activity.
- The winners of the competition from previous years may not enter the competition in 2022.
For more information, visit Teagasc.
For more information, visit https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/gfoty-competition-/