Credit is due to Mayo champion - Young Farmer of the Year

Little did Oliver Cromwell think when he infamously threatened people with the prospect of going “to hell or Connaught”, that a Mayo farmer would win the prestigious prize of Ireland’s Young Farmer of the Year.

With due deference to Mayo, it is fair to say the land there hardly compares with that of the Golden Vale. So, congratulations are in order for 33-year old Seán O’Donnell, a dairy farmer from Ballina, who has beaten 200 rivals to claim the coveted FBD award in Bantry. Run by Macra na Feirme with the backing of the Irish Farmers’ Association, the competition is recognised as a real test of excellence. They are judged in such vital areas as efficiency, farm safety, and business initiative. Milking some 120 cows, the winner typifies the forward-looking mentality of a go-ahead young farmer. Not only is he planning to expand his herd to 150 cows with an eye to cashing in on next year’s abolition of the EU milk quota regime, he is also looking towards a share-farming arrangement with a neighbour.

Ever since the economy collapsed, the chance of getting into the potentially lucrative business of farming here, as opposed to joining the tens of thousands of talented young people who have had no other choice but to emigrate, has become an attractive proposition. But there is an onus on Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney to fight for beef and tillage farmers now facing hard times.