Late on Friday night Ornua and the National Dairy Council announced the Donegal-based Aurivo suppliers Richard and Wendy Starrett as overall winners of the NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards.

The winners will receive €5,000 in prize money and take home the coveted NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards perpetual cup. The Lifford farm is a true family operation. The Starretts milk 160 cows and have grown and developed the dairy business by using the farm resources while further enhancing the farm in terms of environment and biodiversity.

Now in their 11th year, the awards acknowledge and celebrate the highest standards of excellence in dairy farming with a focus on milk quality, animal welfare and sustainable farming practices.

Shortlist

The 2020 shortlist was made up of 11 dairy farming families representing 11 co-ops nationwide. All farming finalists underwent a detailed assessment by an expert judging panel. This year, the overall winner announcement was revealed live, for the first time ever, during a three-minute special extended ad break of The Late Late Show on Friday 30 October.

Standards

Ornua CEO John Jordan congratulated the Starrett family on their win, commenting: “This year, Ireland’s dairy farming families have been working harder than ever to keep Irish dairy products on kitchen tables in Ireland and around the world – all whilst maintaining exceptional standards in milk quality and sustainable farming.

“We’re thrilled to be able to celebrate our winners, the Starrett family from Donegal, as they are excellent role models of the resilience and passion that are at the heart of Irish farming families.”

National Dairy Council CEO Zoe Kavanagh said: “There has never been a better time to celebrate excellence in dairy farming. Irish dairy has one of the lowest carbon footprints internationally, primarily due to the unique Irish grass-fed, family-farmed system which is extremely efficient and involves less intensive farming.”

Professor Pat Wall said: “Since the establishment of the NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards in 2009, the standard of entrants has improved year on year, which is a credit to the immense dedication of Irish family farms to producing the best-quality milk in the world.”

The winners

Overall winner: The Starrett family, Lifford, Donegal (Aurivo Co-op).

Overall runner-up and highest EBI herd category award: The Liston family, Limerick (Kerry Agribusiness).

Lowest TBC award: The Daunt family, Cork (Bandon Co-op).

Lowest SCC award: The Keohane family, Cork (Barryroe Co-op).

Development award: The Lordan family, Cork (Dairygold Co-op).

Best Milk Solids award: The O’Grady family, Kildare (Glanbia).

National winners of the NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards:

The Bowe family, Thurles, Tipperary (nominated by Centenary Thurles).

The Cormican family, Galway (nominated by Arrabawn Co-op).

The Graham family, Cavan (nominated by Lakeland Dairies).

The O’Donovan family, Cork (nominated by Drinagh Co-op).