The Deasy family from Aherla in Co Cork have just been announced as the winners of the Dairygold Malting Barley Competition for 2022. The announcement was made on Friday afternoon 13 January at Dairygold’s annual tillage conference.

Jim and Aidan Deasy were the mid-Cork finalists in the competition, which requires farmers to meet specific malting barley standards, while also examining the sustainable farming practices being implemented in the farm business.

The Deasy family grow cereals and forage crops on their farm and the rotation helps them to achieve high yields and work on soil quality.

Farm sustainability

Organic manures, such as pig and cattle slurry, are also imported on to the farm from local farms.

The Deasys farm in strong dairy country and grow forage crops for these farms, while also importing organic manures, which has now become a standard part of their farming system.

Their rotation allows for easy use of slurry and the Deasys have storage on their own farm.

They use their own umbilical system to spread the slurry and this is calibrated with a flow meter and driven with auto-steer. The fertiliser bill on farm has been reduced as a result.

This is what all tillage farms need to embrace

One judge commented: “This is what all tillage farms need to embrace, a good working relationship between all sectors of the farming community who work in an organised and supportive way for each other.”

The family also runs a contracting business and a third generation of the family is studying at the Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry.

Supplying major businesses

Dairygold supplies malting barley to the Malting Company of Ireland. Among the Malting Company of Ireland’s customers are Heineken in Cork city, Irish Distillers and West Cork Distillers.

The production of malting barley locally helps to produce products with low carbon footprints that are shipped all over the world.

There were three other finalists in the competition from the different regions. They were:

  • Cyrus and Colin Buttimer - north Cork.
  • Richard Sweetman - east Cork.
  • Frank and James Quinlan - Tipperary.

    • Commenting on the winners, Séamus O'Mahoney of Dairygold said there was very little between the winners.

    He noted that the Deasys barley hit 3.6t/ac in yield, with a KPH of 71 and 73.