Two Louth beef farmers shortlisted for Bord Bia’s Origin Green Farmer Awards

Two beef farmers from Louth, Richard Lynch from Ardee, and Joe O’Reilly from Togher, have been shortlisted in Bord Bia’s Origin Green Farmer Awards. 

The biennial awards recognise and reward the exceptional performance being achieved by members of its Sustainable Quality Assurance schemes for beef, horticulture and dairy. These schemes are pivotal in differentiating Irish food products in the global marketplace.

_{Richard Lynch from Ardee}

Richard and Joe’s farms, along with the 37 other finalists, meet high standards around hygiene, farm safety, traceability, animal welfare, remedy use and commitment to their locality.  The overall category winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at The Heritage Hotel, Killenard, Co. Laois on Wednesday 12th December.

Richard Lynch from just outside Ardee, Co. Louth is nominated in the dairy calf to beef production category. Having previously run a suckler herd, Richard changed enterprise a few years ago due to his contracting business. The farm rears dairy calves and brings them to finish as bull and heifer beef.

Joe O' Reilly runs a suckler to beef farm on the coast of the Irish Sea at Togher, Co. Louth. The herd consists of predominantly Limousin and Simmental suckler cows. The farm also has a substantial tillage operation which grows most of the cattle feed for the farm.

Chief Executive of Bord Bia Tara McCarthy paid tribute to the achievements of all the finalists, saying: 

“The farmers chosen as finalists for these awards are already regarded by the industry as being among the very best.  Their commitment to sustainable production through the Origin Green programme and willingness to have their achievements judged by a panel of experts shows their ambition to be the best and to make the Irish food and drink industry a world leader.”

She added: “These are the farmers Bord Bia will be looking to when we are demonstrating to food buyers the solid foundations on which the Irish food and drink industry has been built and why it is sustainable into the future.”

With the Origin Green programme, Ireland is the first country in the world to audit and carbon footprint its livestock farms, currently at a rate of 650 a week, under what is in effect a national programme providing measurement and feedback to farmers for continuous improvement in how they farm sustainably.

The results represent a unique selling point for Irish food exports, proving that farmers are operating with due care for the surrounding environment, resulting in a low *carbon footprint.