It was a busy couple of days at the Green Glens Arena in Millstreet, Co. Cork, where we saw thousands of farmers and industry members attend the 40th annual National Dairy Show sponsored by AXA. This was the first time the event was back in person since 2019 and without doubt it was well worth the wait. For the first time in the show’s history the event was conducted across two days where it gave each of the 180 exhibitors in attendance a massive opportunity to meet dairy farmers coming from all over the country.
The event was bustling with the top dairy stock in Ireland which were exhibited in the show hall at the iconic Green Glens Arena.
Hallow Atwood Twizzle 1181 from the Hallow Holstein herd (breeders Philip and Linda Jones) in Wexford took the Supreme Champion title at the National Dairy Show, selected in the ring by the Welsh judge, David Jones. The reserve champion went to Coolroehouse Real Seal Sooty exhibited by Paul Murphy while the honourable mention went to Bawnmore Unix Jeanette 2 ET, exhibited by Bryan and John O’Connor.
Also part of the winning line-up was Richard Kingston’s Cradenhill Persues Dallas 1425 taking the award for the highest economic breeding index (EBI). Notably, there was a great amount of young people exhibiting cattle at the show, with some being fortunate enough to pick up some ribbons for all their efforts. To see a full list of all the category winners, check out this AgriLand article.
Alongside the cattle on show was a hive of activity from all the exhibitors interacting with farmers in the main hall of the arena. Throughout the two-day event, a series of seminars took place focusing on a range of issues affecting the dairy sector. Among the topics discussed were the 25% emissions reduction target set by government for the agriculture sector, dairy breeding, the economic sustainability of dairy beef, changing grass swards, new on-farm technologies, organic farming and dairy farm financing. All these talks were hosted by guests organised by Agri Insider team, who put together an excellent variety of interesting speakers. These debates most certainly gave the crowd in attendance something to bring home and think about relative to their own farms or businesses.
Finally, the highlight from the show was the presentation of the 2022 AXA Innovation Awards. These awards, which first began just 11 years ago, are aimed to reward new products and services within the agricultural sector which are revolutionising some aspect of dairy farming. 20 finalists made individual presentations on the Friday afternoon in front of a very well esteemed judging panel on the main seminar stage. Later that evening the winners were announced by Former Minister for Agriculture and media broadcaster, Ivan Yates, in front of a packed room. Sean Smith and Stephen Fagan, representing the Micron Agritech team at the show were delighted to pick up not one, but two awards, adding further silverware to the company’s trophy cabinet. These included the Overall Sustainability and Science Awards, which were a fantastic achievement for the start-up and great recognition for all the hard work and dedication the Micron team have put in over the last number of months.
