The Irish Farmers Journal scooped four awards at the prestigious Guild of Agricultural Journalists awards in Dublin on Friday night.

News reporter Barry Murphy won the best news article category for Farming in wartime Ukraine.

Irish Country Living editor Amii McKeever took the prize for best technical article for Cutting through the bull.

The best photo prize went to Irish Farmers Journal contributor Andy Gibson for Bringing the girls home.

Sustainability specialist and incoming tillage editor Siobhan Walsh won the rising star award.

The Bull

The overall award, known as The Bull, a bronze sculpture by John Behan, was won by Farmed out, a series by Ciaran Moran and Margaret Donnelly of the Farming Independent on the hundreds of children who were boarded out from church-run institutions to farms around the country.

This year’s awards, sponsored by FBD, took place in the Killashee Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare, after the last awards were held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are the shortlisted awards in each category:

Best news article

  • From grain farm to server farm: Amazon buys €20m Dublin site for data centre – Thomas Hubert, The Currency.
  • Glanbia’s founding co-op wants to do it all over again – Thomas Hubert, The Currency.
  • Farming in wartime Ukraine – Barry Murphy, Irish Farmers Journal (winner).

    • Best feature article

  • Carving out a niche at Blackcastle Farm– Amii McKeever, Irish Farmers Journal.
  • Beef Tribunal: special report – Ciaran Moran, Farming Independent.
  • Farmed out – Ciaran Moran and Margaret Donnelly, Farming Independent (winner).

    • Best visual report

  • Milking 285 cows through a 50-bail rotary parlour – Michael Geary, Agriland.
  • Viastar loads bulls for export overseas – Breifne O’Brien, Agriland.
  • 10 things to know about seaweed - New Decade TV Ltd (winner).

    • Best audio report

  • The scourge of TB – Elaine Mitchell, BBC Radio Ulster (winner).
  • Countrywide: soil – Damien O’Reilly.
  • The Young Stock Podcast – Irish Farmers Journal team.

    • Best technical article

  • Hit the button! – Ciaran Moran, Farming Independent.
  • Investigating soil carbon levels on 900ha of land – Siobhán Walsh, Irish Farmers Journal.
  • Cutting through the bull – Amii McKeever, Irish Farmers Journal (winner).

    • Best targeted campaign

  • The Footprint Farmers programme – Irish Farmers Journal team.
  • Fit to Farm: special report – Farming Independent team (winner).
  • Incredible Edibles – Agri Aware.

    • Best climate change reporting

  • Are we scaling back at a time when millions could go hungry? Rachel Martin, Farming Examiner (winner).
  • Lowering slaughter age – Adam Woods, Irish Farmers Journal.
  • What’s the potential of geothermal energy for Irish agriculture? Kathleen O’Sullivan, Farming Examiner.

    • Best photo

  • Up in smoke – Chris McCullough, Scottish Farmer.
  • The mart – Philip Doyle, Irish Farmers Journal.
  • Bringing the girls home – Andy Gibson, Irish Farmers Journal (winner).

    • Rising Star award

    William Kellet, Agriland.

    Rachel Martin, Farming Examiner.

    Siobhán Walsh, Irish Farmers Journal (winner).