Denis O’Connor has been announced as the overall winner of the Dairygold malting barley competition.

The winner was announced at Dairygold’s annual tillage conference on Friday 12 January at Corrin Event Centre, Fermoy, Co Cork.

Denis, who was the mid-Cork regional winner, farms near Midleton. His farm is free-draining and this often allows him to begin cultivations and planting early in the season, which is a help in achieving low proteins in malting barley.

Denis grows potatoes, cereals and beans. He carries out soil sampling every three years and this helps to keep nutrients at optimum levels.

Cover crops

Cover crops are an important part of his farming system, helping the soil quality to improve, increasing soil carbon levels and offsetting emissions, while also helping to take up nutrients on free-draining soil which may otherwise be lost to water.

Denis was chosen from four regional winners. Regional winners had the highest-quality grain in their region and then went on to be judged on farming practices, with a focus on sustainability.

Dairygold’s Séamus O’Mahoney said that once grain quality has been looked at as the competition focuses on soil, water, climate, biodiversity and farm sustainability.

He said that the winner stood out for having a “continuous focus on quality and working with nature”. He said that he showed a “dedication to producing the highest quality of malting barley”.

Head of tillage at Dairygold Liam Leahy said that the winners are ambassadors for the year and deserve to be recognised for their hard work.

The regional winner of the competition were as follows:

  • North Cork – Michael Archdeacon, Blackwater Valley, Co Cork.
  • Mid-Cork – Denis O’Connor, Midleton, Co Cork.
  • East-Cork – Billy Nicholson, Crosshaven, Co Cork.
  • Tipperary – Michael J Ahearne, Cahir, Co Tipperary.