Dairygold milk supplier, Kevin Downing from Whitechurch, Co. Cork was declared the overall winner of the 2017 Dairygold Milk Quality Awards.
The Downing farm located a few miles north of Cork city has a strong history of achievement in dairy farming, and Michael Downing, Kevin’s father, won the same award in 2010.
Tradition Of Quality
Accepting the award Kevin Downing said, “This is a very proud achievement and wonderful recognition from Dairygold of our efforts. The standards of all the finalists were mind-blowing.
“It’s also naturally a sentimental achievement for us as my father won the award eight years ago. He had a very strong ethos for quality and was an absolute perfectionist – I’m proud that we have been able to continue that tradition and to maintain those same high standards in every aspect of our on-farm operations.”
Dairygold Chairman John O’Gorman commended Downing and his farm manager, Tom Carr for the well-kept facilities and their “keen awareness of the importance of hygiene, safety and sustainability”.
O’Gorman added, “Our Milk Quality Awards are a very special night where our producers are at the heart of the occasion and celebrated for their achievements.
"The ethos of continuous improvement that we strive to instil within the organisation is very much evident across our milk supply base which is reflected in the €4.3 million in quality bonus payments to milk suppliers through the Balanced Scorecard last year.”
Dairygold Milk Quality Awards
The awards were based on 2017 milk quality data for all 2,900 Dairygold milk suppliers across counties Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Clare, and the Downing Farm won out over 18 other shortlisted finalists.
Judges visited all 18 shortlisted farms to review their farm enterprises first hand. The reviews took account of Milk Quality, Dairy Facilities, Herd Health and Welfare, Sustainability and General Efficiencies and Farm Health and Safety.
The Judges chose six regional winners and the overall winner was announced at the award presentation, which took place at Springfort Hall Hotel in Mallow last week.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
