Journalists at the Irish Farmers Journal were recognised under four different categories at the Irish Guild of Agricultural Journalists Awards, which took place in the Castleknock Hotel and Country Club on Friday night.

The biennial awards ceremony encourages excellence in the coverage by media of farming, food and rural life in Ireland.

The Irish Farmers Journal won under four different categories: print, technical, targeted campaign and photo.

Print

The news team at the Irish Farmers Journal won best print news article for its coverage of the IFA pay crisis, from the time the news broke to new beginnings for the organisation under current president Joe Healy.

The judging panel commended the news journalists in this category for their "comprehensive coverage of the most significant story in Irish agriculture in recent years."

Technical article

Peter Varley of the Irish Farmers Journal won best technical article for his On & Off farm series.

The judges said On & Off Farm, was "a highly practical and educational series that demonstrated how farming and farm life could be improved and made more efficient in a series of articles that were well written and illustrated with clear instructive photographs".

Targeted campaign

Mary Phelan won best targeted campaign for the inaugural Agri Careers Fair, which took place in March this year, and which the judges said was a "truly comprehensive campaign, right across the media, that promoted the opportunities offered in the agriculture and food sectors to a target group who responded by turning up in huge numbers to explore the possibilities".

Photo

Finally, Kerry photographer Valerie O'Sullivan of the Irish Farmers Journal won best photograph for One Girl and Her Dog, published in the Irish Farmers Journal on 13 February 2016.

According to the judges, One Girl and Her Dog is "proof, if it was ever needed, of the old saying that a good picture is worth a thousand words".

The judging panel comprised chair Alan Dukes, Public Affairs Consultant and former Government Minister; Sheila Reilly, Editor, Longford Leader; Ray Ryan, former Agricultural Correspondent, Irish Examiner; Joe O’Brien, former Agricultural Correspondent, RTÉ; Dr Pat Wall, Professor of Public Health, UCD; and Richard Wright, former Agricultural Correspondent, BBC Northern Ireland.

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