Crossmolina couple wins top award in National Dairy Council Awards

05. OCT, 2010

A Crossmolina couple has won a top award in the National Dairy Council Quality Milk Awards for 2010 – the national award programme which identifies and rewards our top quality dairy farmers.

Micheal O'Muircheartaigh,guest Speaker, makes a presentation to National Finalists in the National Dairy Council Quality Milk Award 2010 to Deirdre and Billy Connor, Crossmolina, with Helen Brophy, Chief Executive National Dairy Council. Picture Fennells

At the awards ceremony, a national judge’s special recognition award for care of the environment was presented to Billy and Deirdre Connor from Crossmolina (suppliers of milk to Connacht Gold Co-op).

Prizes were presented by broadcaster Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh at a national awards ceremony in Citywest, Co Dublin.

The NDC Quality Milk Awards helps to build awareness about the dairy farmers who are behind local dairy brands; and creates an opportunity to showcase to consumers the top quality of dairy farming in the Republic of Ireland.

The overall winners & winners of the manufacturing supply top award are Kevin & John Walsh, Kilnafrehan West, Dungarvan, Co Waterford (supplying milk to Glanbia).

Real Opportunities Lie Ahead for Dairy Farmers

“Professor Patrick Wall (UCD) representing the judging panel for the NDC Awards,said:”The winners in the NDC Quality Milk Awards are proof that you can achieve top quality milk production standards in a way that is compatible with commercial viability.

“These farmers are role models for all of us, showing that you can achieve excellent quality standards by doing relatively simple things well and being very consistent about it,” said Professor Wall.

Helen Brophy, Chief Executive of the National Dairy Council said that the NDC is involved in a lot of work behind the scenes with its dairy members in areas ranging from keeping up to speed with legislation at EU level, to monitoring new medical or scientific research breakthroughs related to dairy.

“We are living in a society where 42% of Irish teenage girls and nearly one fifth of Irish teenage boys have inadequate calcium intake and about 61% or nearly two thirds of our population is not even consuming the 3 daily servings of dairy a day recommended by the Irish Department of Health and Children in our food pyramid model,” said Ms Brophy.

Ms Brophy said that the NDC is constantly working to support the consumption of dairy products in the Republic of Ireland as part of a balanced diet, with programmes like the NDC trade mark to support local dairy farming, a butter advertising campaign earlier in Spring, the nationwide Cheesy Moments campaign or new Milk in Action Campaign.

The national judges for the NDC Quality Milk Awards – Professor Paddy Wall, Associate Professor of Public Health at UCD; Dr David Gleeson, Milk Quality Research, Teagasc; and Jack Kennedy, Dairy Editor, Irish Farmers Journal
inspected 11 short-listed finalist farms for the 2010 awards.

National Dairy Council Chairman, Dominic Cronin, thanked all of the dairy co-ops who took time to select and submit nominations for this year’s awards and offered heartfelt congratulations to all of the finalists and winners