Mattie John Kelly from Dysart has won the Sheep Category at the FBD Young Farmer of the Year Awards.
Picture Credit: twitter.com/MacranaFeirme
The announcement came at an event in the Boyne Valley Hotel, Drogheda last night where Mattie and five other young Farmers from around the country also battled it out for the overall title of FBD Young Farmer of the Year.
The FBD Young Farmer of the Year awards is run by Macra na Feirme in partnership with the IFA. The aim of the competition is to recognise and reward the top young farmers in the country in all sectors. The finalists were judged according to a number of criteria. These included farm business initiative and innovation, levels of farm efficiency and enterprise quality, farm safety and environmental protection awareness, as well as agricultural knowledge and community involvement. In the end the title went to Kevin Moran, a Dairy Farmer from County Mayo.
County finalists were chosen in the categories of beef, dairy, sheep and tillage/other (pigs, poultry, horticulture) to go forward to the semi-finals. Roscommon was also represented in the Finals by Dara Finnerty in the Beef Category and former Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year Award winner Ed Payne, from Ballymoe, in the Dairy Category.