A farm walk will take place on the land of the 2024 national winners of the National Dairy Council (NDC) and Kerrygold quality milk awards on Thursday 28 August.
The Kennedys from Cahir, Co Tipperary, are Dairygold suppliers who won last year’s competition.
Aidan and Derval Kennedy, along with their children Nickolas and Galina, are opening their farm for milk suppliers and others in the sector to see how the farm is managed.
They milk 390 cows in a 50-unit rotary parlour. The Kennedy operation is at scale, but is still very family focused, with all of the family involved alongside four farm staff.
The farm walk is organised jointly by Teagasc, Dairygold, the NDC and Ornua.
Criteria
The Kennedys excelled in the judging criteria, which included environmental sustainability, animal health and welfare, farm infrastructure, hygiene standards, soil and grassland management and technical performance, among other factors.
Dairygold chair Pat Clancy said the co-op is “immensely” proud of the Kennedys' achievements.
“Their ability to produce exceptional-quality milk while caring for their land, animals and people reflects the very best of Irish dairy farming,” he added.
Teagasc regional advisory manager in Tipperary Donal Mullane urged farmers to attend the farm walk.
“The Kennedys are doing an excellent job producing high-quality milk in a sustainable way and this is a great opportunity for all farmers to visit the farm and see the excellent practices being adopted on this farm,” he said.
The farm walk is open to all farmers, industry representatives and anyone interested in the future of Irish dairy farming.
It will take place on Thursday 28 August at 11.30am at the Kennedy Farm, Drangan House, Cahir, Co Tipperary. Registration can be completed here.
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