Six farmers from a variety of agricultural sectors and a variety of backgrounds will contest tonight’s FBD Young Farmer of the Year Award in the Castleknock Hotel, Dublin.
The finalists
Eamonn Keevers is a dairy farmer from Waterford. He has been farming in partnership with his parents on their 108-cow farm since 2016. Prior to this he completed two years in advanced dairy in Kildalton College and spent two years doing a professional diploma in dairy farm management in Moorepark.
Also dairy farming in partnership with his father is Sean Kelly from north Tipperary. Located just outside Nenagh, they milk 100 cows on a 29ha milking block. Sean completed his leaving certificate in 2010 and began work on the family farm afterwards. This year, he received his Green Certificate from Gurteen College.
From Monaghan, Daniel Hawthorne has been running his family's beef farm with his father since 2012. The farm is made up of 30 Aberdeen Angus suckler cows and 50 ewes. Daniel also runs a store-lamb business handling 400 lambs annually. Daniel completed his Green Certificate in Ballyhaise College and also works as a metal fabricator.
Linda Hanbridge-Cliffe is the collaborative finalist and she is from Co Wicklow. She has been working on her family's farm since 2011 alongside her father and brother. In 2015, they increased their cow numbers from 55 to 105 Montbeliarde cows and operate split calving – 20% in winter and 80% in spring.
The sheep category finalist is Luna Orofiamma who farms in Cavan. Originally from the Mezzogiorno region of Italy, Luna grew up on a mixed farm before moving to Ireland. She now works in retail along with managing a small sheep enterprise where there are both long- and short-term plans to grow the business.
Representing the land mobility category is Maighread Barron from Waterford. Having completed four years in dairy business in UCD in 2016, she is now renting a 100 acre dairy farm in Waterford. Prior to this Maighread worked for six months in New Zealand as part of her degree and on a 1,000 cow herd in Cork and a 500 cow herd in Waterford.
Final interviews
The six finalists are undergoing one final round of interviews this afternoon to determine the winner. The winner will be announced at 10.30pm along with the winner of the National Rural Network Biodiversity award and Best Emerging female and male farmer.
Category winners were announced earlier and they were: Eamonn Keevers (dairy), Daniel Hawthorne (beef), Luna Orofiamma (sheep), Thomas Hayes (other enterprise), and Linda Hanbridge-Cliffe (collaborative).
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Listen: young farmer of the year calls for rent cap on land
Six farmers from a variety of agricultural sectors and a variety of backgrounds will contest tonight’s FBD Young Farmer of the Year Award in the Castleknock Hotel, Dublin.
The finalists
Eamonn Keevers is a dairy farmer from Waterford. He has been farming in partnership with his parents on their 108-cow farm since 2016. Prior to this he completed two years in advanced dairy in Kildalton College and spent two years doing a professional diploma in dairy farm management in Moorepark.
Also dairy farming in partnership with his father is Sean Kelly from north Tipperary. Located just outside Nenagh, they milk 100 cows on a 29ha milking block. Sean completed his leaving certificate in 2010 and began work on the family farm afterwards. This year, he received his Green Certificate from Gurteen College.
From Monaghan, Daniel Hawthorne has been running his family's beef farm with his father since 2012. The farm is made up of 30 Aberdeen Angus suckler cows and 50 ewes. Daniel also runs a store-lamb business handling 400 lambs annually. Daniel completed his Green Certificate in Ballyhaise College and also works as a metal fabricator.
Linda Hanbridge-Cliffe is the collaborative finalist and she is from Co Wicklow. She has been working on her family's farm since 2011 alongside her father and brother. In 2015, they increased their cow numbers from 55 to 105 Montbeliarde cows and operate split calving – 20% in winter and 80% in spring.
The sheep category finalist is Luna Orofiamma who farms in Cavan. Originally from the Mezzogiorno region of Italy, Luna grew up on a mixed farm before moving to Ireland. She now works in retail along with managing a small sheep enterprise where there are both long- and short-term plans to grow the business.
Representing the land mobility category is Maighread Barron from Waterford. Having completed four years in dairy business in UCD in 2016, she is now renting a 100 acre dairy farm in Waterford. Prior to this Maighread worked for six months in New Zealand as part of her degree and on a 1,000 cow herd in Cork and a 500 cow herd in Waterford.
Final interviews
The six finalists are undergoing one final round of interviews this afternoon to determine the winner. The winner will be announced at 10.30pm along with the winner of the National Rural Network Biodiversity award and Best Emerging female and male farmer.
Category winners were announced earlier and they were: Eamonn Keevers (dairy), Daniel Hawthorne (beef), Luna Orofiamma (sheep), Thomas Hayes (other enterprise), and Linda Hanbridge-Cliffe (collaborative).
Read more
Listen: young farmer of the year calls for rent cap on land
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