Roscommon farmer named among Milk Quality Award winners
Kevin Madden from Roxborough, outside Roscommon Town was named as one of the winners in Aurivo’s 17th annual Milk Quality Awards.
A County Roscommon farmer has been named as one of the winners in Aurivo’s 17th annual Milk Quality Awards. The awards honour commitment, dedication, and overall excellence in dairy farming.
A total of eight farmers were awarded for their work in 2023, ranging from Champion of Sustainability to most improved SCC. Each of these farmers was recognised by Aurivo for factors such as dedication to animal welfare, sustainable farming practices, and excellence in milk quality.
Kevin Madden was honoured for the most improved somatic cell count on his farm in Roxborough, outside Roscommon Town. He milks 110 Holstein Friesian cows with the help of his wife Lyndsey and son, Owen. Kevin attributes his improved SCC to strident milk-recording and hygiene practices including dipping clusters after each cow and stripping each cow every morning.
Dara and Beatrix Killeen, of Bawnmore farm in County Galway, were chosen as the overall winners, and were honoured for their commitment to excellent milk quality and sustainability across all aspects of farming practice.
Sustainability is brought into everyday practice through milk-recording, the use of EBI and DBI indexes when making breeding decisions, participating in the National Genotyping Programme and protected urea use. The inclusion of clover and multi species swards has reduced the amount of chemical fertiliser used on farm. There is ample space for nature, with 10km of hedgerows, allowing biodiversity to flourish.
Having been passed down for four generations, Bawnmore farm is a true family affair, with Dara relying heavily on the help and support of his parents Mary and Charlie, wife Beatrix, and two children, Isabella and Oliver. Dara began milking in 2019, leaving the world of sheep and beef farming behind, and now has 160 high EBI, cross-bred cows on 120 hectares.
He will now go on to represent Aurivo at the NDC and Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards, which seeks to celebrate excellence in milk suppliers.
Donal Tierney, Chief Executive of Aurivo, sincerely thanked the farms involved for their commitment, stating: “Without the hard work and dedication afforded to us by our farming families, Aurivo would not be able to produce some of the best quality dairy products in the world. It is an absolute pleasure to honour our awardees who have thrived despite a difficult 2023 that involved challenging weather and declining milk prices. As we continue into 2024, I look forward to our enduring partnerships that allow us to maintain producing the highest quality dairy products while simultaneously protecting and safeguarding the environment around us.”
The other milk suppliers honoured for their excellence in dairy farming included: Michael Marley, Excellence in Udder Health from Templeogue, County Sligo; Craig Finnerty, Highest Average Milk Solids, from Ballinasloe, Vincent Diskin from Tuam, Best New Entrant and Michael Gibbons from Claremorris, lowest TBC in Manufacturing Milk.
