Tipperary family farm wins Malting Barley Competition at Dairygold Tillage Conference

Dairygold also announced its minimum contract price for Beans and details on a pilot Sustainability Assurance Scheme for Tillage at the event

Tipperary farmers Oliver and Margaret Keating, champions of regenerative farming practices, were crowned the winners of this year’s Dairygold Malting Barley Competition at its annual Tillage Conference.

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On their family farm near Burncourt in Tipperary, Oliver and his wife Margaret are redefining sustainable farming.

Alongside their three young daughters - Emma, Sarah, and Kate - the Keating family runs a mixed farming system that combines a significant tillage enterprise with an autumn-calving suckler herd.

Oliver and Margaret were recognised by Dairygold as forward-thinking farmers who consistently deliver exceptional quality grain.

As early adopters of regenerative farming practices, the Keating family are strong advocates for focusing on optimising soil health through building organic matter and now achieve similar yields with reduced chemical fertiliser.

Speaking at the Dairygold Annual Tillage Conference in Corrin Event Centre in Fermoy, Co Cork, Chairperson Pat Clancy said: “Congratulations to all our Regional Winners and finalists in the Malting Barley Competition on their exceptional commitment to delivering the highest quality grains. In particular, I’d like to acknowledge our overall winners, the Keating family. Oliver and Margaret prove on their family farm that sustainability and productivity can go hand in hand.
“In addition to regular soil testing as part of his practices to support soil health, they have also focused on innovation through the adoption of precision farming utilising GPS and auto-steer technology. The results and effort displayed by all our winners must be commended.

“It continues to be a challenging period for tillage farmers, and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to celebrate the commitment to excellence on display among today’s top-class growers.”

The 11th Dairygold Tillage Conference brought together farmers, agribusiness professionals and technical experts, with a focus on the challenges and opportunities for today’s tillage sector in the context of the wider global environment.

Teagasc Principal Research Officer, Dr. Fiona Thorne explored the economics of the tillage industry today, benchmarking against other sectors and looked towards the season ahead. Stephen Robb, Irish Farmers Journal Renewables Editor and Ear to the Ground television presenter, looked at the challenges facing the sector, and outlined the opportunities including the growing of protein and forage crops on contract, and within the renewables area for tillage farmers.

Paul McGillicuddy, Chief Executive of the Malting Company of Ireland, highlighted the challenges and opportunities for the global distilling and brewing sector and outlined work underway to provide future value-add malting opportunities both nationally and internationally.

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A panel on the wider complexities within the global food supply chain and evolving consumer trends heard input from MEP Seán Kelly and Bord Bia’s Head of Dairy David Kennedy who highlighted the importance of targeting premium segments to provide long-term resilience and help ward against volatility in the global commodity markets.

Seán Kelly also commented on the progress and direction of the ongoing Common Agriculture Policy 28 discussions, as he highlighted they could have a significant impact on tillage farming into the future.

A new voluntary pilot Sustainability Assurance Scheme for Tillage was also highlighted at the conference.

The scheme, recently announced by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, aims to leverage the value of strong traceability, quality, and sustainability credentials for Irish-grown cereals among domestic and international customers.

It is being developed in partnership with Bord Bia; the Cereals Association of Ireland, who oversee the Irish Grain Assurance Scheme; Malting Company of Ireland; industry and farmer representative groups.

A long-term objective of this pilot scheme is to verify robust assurance protocols already in place for malting barley to target improved market access and premium pricing based on certified quality and sustainability.

Seamus O’Mahony, Dairygold Head of Business Development, Innovation and Digital, said: “We are seeking to verify the good tillage practices already underway on Irish farms and establish our carbon footprint to allow us to build differentiation in the marketplace for our native grains and, in particular, our malting barley for the Irish distilling and brewing sectors. The ultimate aim of this three-year pilot scheme with MCI is to leverage our premium crops and build price resilience for our grower Members. We will be engaging with our suppliers as the scheme evolves.”

At the conference Dairygold confirmed a minimum contract price of €230/t for the 2026 protein bean crop.

The early pricing offer is designed to deliver a welcome security to growers who want to be in a position to make informed business-based decisions at an early point in the season.

Liam Leahy, Dairygold’s Beef and Tillage Business Manager, said: “This is a valuable and important native crop and our early minimum contract price for protein beans reflects our support for an important crop for the season ahead. Our range of dairy and ruminant feeds utilise both Irish grains and the valuable native protein.”