The Irish Farmers Journal team won the top prize for Best Sustainability Initiative at the Media Awards on Thursday night in Dublin.

The gold prize was awarded for the Irish Farmers Journal Renewables Roadshow, which took place in April 2024 in Cork, Kilkenny, Cavan, and Athlone.

The expert-led information events offered farmers, businesses, and homeowners valuable insights into renewable energy.

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The four evening events, each lasting 2.5 hours, attracted over 1,700 attendees and featured expert discussions, presentations, and question and answer sessions.

L-R CEO of The Agricultural Trust, William Minchin; senior advertising manager at the Irish Farmers Journal, Morgan Keane; account manager at the Irish Farmers Journal, Shane Finnegan; head of sales at the Irish Farmers Journal, Michelle Crowley; sales manager at the Irish Farmers Journal, Marcella O'Shaughnessy and Irish Farmers Journal renewables editor Stephen Robb, at the Media Awards.

The roadshow focused on four key areas which represented significant changes - new policies, actions required at the farm and rural home level, and the biggest opportunities for rural Ireland.

  • Getting paid for making renewable heat – Income opportunities through technologies like biomass and heat pumps.
  • Making sense of solar PV on your farm – Practical advice on using solar PV to reduce energy costs.
  • Retrofitting your home – Guidance on energy-efficient upgrades for farmhouses.
  • Anaerobic digestion and farming: how will it work? – Exploring the benefits of anaerobic digestion for farm diversification and renewable energy production.

    • Beyond the event, the roadshow empowered attendees to implement renewable energy solutions on their farms and homes, and this was reflected in our feedback from technology suppliers who attended the event.

    The events were complemented by coverage in the Irish Farmers Journal print edition and online.

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