A Kilkenny farm has taken the title of Tirlán grain grower of the year. Thomas and Anabel Butler took the overall prize for their feed wheat.
The Butlers, who farm outside Bennettsbridge in Co Kilkenny, put a huge focus on soil fertility and crop rotations. The farm is mixed cropping and grassland, with some woodland.
A good rotation no doubt helped to deliver a bumper wheat crop, which had a KPH of 80.8 and 11% protein content at a moisture content of 14.1%.
The winner was announced on 13 February in Co Kilkenny.
Tirlán chair John Murphy commented that 2022 was “an exceptional year” and that the standard of grain was exceptionally high. He added that “it is a great achievement to get into this room today”.
He thinks that “the best years are yet to come” for the grain sector at Tirlán. However, he did add that land rental prices of €500 to €600/ac was not sustainable.
Research and innovation
The award winners were brought on a tour of the Research and Innovation Centre at Ballyragget, where they saw Irish oats being used to produce oat drinks, cheese and chocolate among other things.
Head of grains at Tirlán John Kealy said: “We doubled our grain volumes in 2022 through our high-spec oats mill in Portlaoise. We have ambitions to continue to develop our milling capacity and extend our capability to take advantage of emerging market opportunities.”
Tirlán purchased over 300,000t of grain from approximately 1,100 farmers in 2022 and 40% of those grains were on premium contracts offering another €3m in payments to farmers.
The full list of award winners is below.
Tirlán grain awards category winners 2023
Winter feed barley (Cassia) – Thomas Mahon, Monasterevin, Co Kildare.Malting barley – Robert and Paul Young, The Heath, Co LaoisGreen feed barley – Peter Marley, Kells, Co Meath.Premium spring barley – James Hill, Dunganstown, Co Wicklow.Dried feed barley – Kiltaghan Farm, Rathangan, Co Kildare.Seed barley – Patrick Miller, Athy, Co Kildare.Green feed wheat – Thomas Butler, Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny.Dried feed wheat – Newtownadam Farm, Cahir, Co Tipperary.Seed wheat – Mark Onions, Portlaoise, Co Laois.Food grade oats – James Ashmore, Ballytore, Co Kildare.Green feed oats – James French, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.Green feed beans – Gormanlough Farms, Slane, Co Meath.Green oilseed rape – Edward Mulhall, Emo, Co Laois.
A Kilkenny farm has taken the title of Tirlán grain grower of the year. Thomas and Anabel Butler took the overall prize for their feed wheat.
The Butlers, who farm outside Bennettsbridge in Co Kilkenny, put a huge focus on soil fertility and crop rotations. The farm is mixed cropping and grassland, with some woodland.
A good rotation no doubt helped to deliver a bumper wheat crop, which had a KPH of 80.8 and 11% protein content at a moisture content of 14.1%.
The winner was announced on 13 February in Co Kilkenny.
Tirlán chair John Murphy commented that 2022 was “an exceptional year” and that the standard of grain was exceptionally high. He added that “it is a great achievement to get into this room today”.
He thinks that “the best years are yet to come” for the grain sector at Tirlán. However, he did add that land rental prices of €500 to €600/ac was not sustainable.
Research and innovation
The award winners were brought on a tour of the Research and Innovation Centre at Ballyragget, where they saw Irish oats being used to produce oat drinks, cheese and chocolate among other things.
Head of grains at Tirlán John Kealy said: “We doubled our grain volumes in 2022 through our high-spec oats mill in Portlaoise. We have ambitions to continue to develop our milling capacity and extend our capability to take advantage of emerging market opportunities.”
Tirlán purchased over 300,000t of grain from approximately 1,100 farmers in 2022 and 40% of those grains were on premium contracts offering another €3m in payments to farmers.
The full list of award winners is below.
Tirlán grain awards category winners 2023
Winter feed barley (Cassia) – Thomas Mahon, Monasterevin, Co Kildare.Malting barley – Robert and Paul Young, The Heath, Co LaoisGreen feed barley – Peter Marley, Kells, Co Meath.Premium spring barley – James Hill, Dunganstown, Co Wicklow.Dried feed barley – Kiltaghan Farm, Rathangan, Co Kildare.Seed barley – Patrick Miller, Athy, Co Kildare.Green feed wheat – Thomas Butler, Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny.Dried feed wheat – Newtownadam Farm, Cahir, Co Tipperary.Seed wheat – Mark Onions, Portlaoise, Co Laois.Food grade oats – James Ashmore, Ballytore, Co Kildare.Green feed oats – James French, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.Green feed beans – Gormanlough Farms, Slane, Co Meath.Green oilseed rape – Edward Mulhall, Emo, Co Laois. 
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