Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Pippa Hackett has launched Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show's inaugural sustainable livestock village and the sustainable farmer awards for 2023.

The sustainable livestock village will provide a platform for farmers to learn more about practices that can further boost the sustainability performance of their farms.

The Department of Agriculture, Teagasc, Bord Bia, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), Animal Health Ireland, Meat industry Ireland and Dairy Industry Ireland will be delivering advice to farmers in relation to sustainability practices and highlight the supports available.

“The real sweet spot is for a farmer to be able to deliver environmental sustainability alongside economic sustainability,” Minister Hackett stated at the launch.

Sustainable farmer awards

The village will include sustainable farmer awards, which are being run by Bord Bia, Teagasc and the Irish Farmers Journal.

The awards will showcase how farmers across different beef and lamb farming systems have implemented sustainability practices and highlight the impact they’ve had in terms of the environmental and economic performance on their farms.

Tullamore Show and FBD National Livestock Show chair Joe Molloy highlighted that “this project started from a brief discussion back in 2022”, and will showcase that “sustainable practices are the foundation of the future”.

The show will take place on Sunday 13 August 2023 at the Butterfield Estate and will feature over 1,000 classes, with a massive prize fund of €175,000.