Kildare grain growers Matt and Luke Dempsey have claimed the Glanbia Ireland Grain Supplier of the Year Award for 2021, amid strong competition from across the country following a bumper harvest.
From barley to beans, the annual awards programme recognises the excellence of the top-class Irish crops delivered by growers each year.
The growers from Celbridge in Co Kildare were amongst 12 suppliers honoured for their dedication and attention to detail in grain production.
Matt and Luke Dempsey operate a tillage and beef enterprise, with around 250 acres allocated to cereal crops.
“We are truly delighted to have been selected for the Grain Supplier of the Year Award. We take great pride in delivering top-class crops and constantly strive to innovate and operate sustainable practices on our farm,” said Matt Dempsey whose Griffenrath Farm Partnership won the Food Grade Oats award with a gluten-free oats crop delivering an average specific weight of 59.3 kph at 15.5% moisture across 240 tonnes.
“We value the use of break crops in maintaining healthy soil structure on our farm, aiding soil fertility, weed control and overall grain quality. We also benefit from significant yield improvement following the use of a break crop. The organic manure from the beef enterprise also helps maintain soil structure and fertility.”
A range of break crops are grown on the farm, including beans, oats and oilseed rape, allowing for the production of seed wheat and gluten-free oats. “We strongly believe in premium crops as it is important that growers maximise the return from all crops, whilst delivering high quality grains for the end user,” said Matt Dempsey, who is also a columnist and former editor of the Irish Farmers Journal.
Glanbia Co-op Chairman John Murphy said the calibre of the entrants to the awards is a reflection of the hard work, dedication and professionalism displayed throughout the grain sector. “We are extremely proud of our top-class portfolio of grains and the high quality is a direct result of the pride that our growers take in their work each and every day. The weather often takes a toll on farmers, particularly grain growers, and it was good to note the favourable conditions and excellent yields were matched by strong prices for the 2021 harvest.
“We feel it is important to recognise the efforts that growers make to produce top quality grain on a consistent basis and to adopt sustainable practices. It is noticeable that some growers are winning an award for a second or third time in different categories.”
Glanbia Ireland Director of Ingredients, Aoife Murphy, said the state-of-the-art new Innovation Centre has delivered enhanced opportunities for our strong portfolio of quality grains.
“We are expanding our portfolio of solutions to include organic oatmeal which is in response to growing consumer demand in this area. Our closed loop supply chain is a real unique selling point for our customers.
“We are also continuing to innovate with our oats ingredients in line with evolving trends in the plant-based category. As a direct response to these market trends, we recently launched a range of oat-based cheese alternatives targeted at foodservice and at food industry manufacturers,” she said.
As the largest buyer and user of Irish grains, Glanbia Ireland’s green grain intake increased to over 190,000 tonnes for 2021, with excellent yields and strong prices for crops. Glanbia Ireland’s grain and ingredients teams have focused strongly on value-added premium crops, with over €2 million in premiums paid over and above the feed price to farmers for last year’s harvest.
