From feed beans to food grade oats, the annual Quality Grain Awards programme recognises the excellence of the top-class Irish crops delivered by Tirlán’s 1,100 growers each year. The grower, from Bennettsbridge in Kilkenny, was among 13 top-quality suppliers honoured for their dedication and attention to detail in grain production. Thomas and Annabel run the family farm near scenic Bennettsbridge. It comprises of 250 acres of tillage along with grassland and woodland.
Tirlán chairman, John Murphy, said choosing an overall winner from among the 13 high-calibre entrants was extremely difficult in a harvest year that was blessed with great weather, exceptional quality and high yields. “The excellence of our suppliers is something we in Tirlán never take for granted. Generations of commitment, knowledge and expertise are what set us apart from growers all over the world. We’re passionate about what we do and it shows in the high-quality produce that comes from our family farms.”
John Kealy, head of grains at Tirlán, said: “We doubled our grain volumes in 2022 through our high-spec Oats Mill in Portlaoise. We have ambitions to continue to develop or milling capacity and extend our capability to take advantage of emerging market opportunities.”
As the largest buyer and user of premium Irish grains, Tirlán paid out circa €100m to grain growers for Harvest 2022 with a grain intake of over 300,000 tonnes.
There is a strong focus on soil fertility and rotations on the 2022 Quality Grain Award-winning Butler family farm, which is located in Co. Kilkenny. Thomas and Annabel run a diversified farming operation near Bennettsbridge which is comprised of tillage, grassland and woodlands. In addition to operating a varied rotation of crops, they also have a keen interest in heritage wheat varieties. It is the wide range of break crops grown on the farm that helped them deliver the perfect conditions for a bumper crop of Green Feed Wheat. The winning crop averaged a specific weight of 80.8kg/ha and 11% protein at a moisture of 14.1% across 310 tonnes.