Seven individuals and groups were announced as winners in a number of categories as the two-day ‘Finding Common Ground’ biodiversity and sustainability festival came to a close in the RDS.

The awards celebrate the work of individuals, farm families and organisations who are enhancing the economic, environmental and social development of Irish agriculture and rural communities.

The award winners are listed below by category.

Sustainable farming award: Broughgammon Farm, Co Antrim

Established in 2011, the small mixed farm run by Charlie and Becky Cole has championed slow food and environmental practices. The farm specialises in rearing ethical, sustainable meat.

This award celebrates the efforts made by an individual or farm family who are sustainably developing their on-farm activities through entrepreneurship, new product development, marketing and improved efficiencies.

Sustainable rural enterprise award: Bo Rua Farm, Co Cork

Tom and Norma Dinneen rum Bó Rua Farm in Ballynoe, Co Cork, where sustainable farming and food are top priorities.

Diversifying their dairy farm, they've embarked on a journey into farmhouse cheesemaking, utilising milk from their Montbeliarde and Friesian cows.

Their commitment to quality and sustainability defines the farm's ethos, reflecting their heritage and deep respect for the land.

Sustainable rural start-up award: Lvlogics, Co Meath

Based in Kells, Co Meath, Lvlogics has developed SiloSpi, a cost-effective device that users fit to their silos to automatically measure the contents to help users manage inventory and automate reordering.

Their ambition is to become the global leader in the remote monitoring of silos (containing animal feed, but also suitable for polymers, wood pellets and cement verticals).

Sustainable rural social impact award: CycleUp, Roscommon Women’s Network

Cycle Up Roscommon (L-R): Maria Hourigan, Nora Fahy, Martina Houigan and Jennifer Payne.

In 2018, a diverse group from the Roscommon Women’s Network (RWN) charity shop decided to do something about the amount of wasted clothes that could not be sold.

RWN arranged training for upcycling of textiles and thanks to the motivation and commitment from the participants, CycleUp is now a unique circular economy social enterprise that benefits the environment and the rural economy.

Sustainable rural innovation award: Fiorbhia Farm, Co Laois

Fiorbhia grows free-range pork, eggs, meat, chickens, heritage bronze turkeys, beef and firewood, while also sequestering up to 5t of carbon per hectare per year.

This is achieved through biodiverse and integrated farm stacking complementary enterprises on the same piece of land.

Fiorbhia takes the best knowledge from farming heritage and combines it with the latest developments in soil microbiology to produce consistent, healthy food with the highest animal welfare standards.