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Grassland Competition

The winners of the 2024 UGS Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition were announced at the 65th Annual Conference on Tuesday 23rd January 2024. The competition was again generously sponsored by Danske Bank.

Overall Winner

David Hunter – Newtownstewart

Runners -Up     

Ryan McPolin   Cabra, Newry

Philip Truesdale, Castlewellan

BGS Cup 

Mitchell Family, Banbridge

YFCU Grassland Competition

An additional competition was included in 2024 for entrants from members of the YFCU.  There were a total of 9 entrants.

The Overall Winners

Eoin & Ryan McCollum, Loughgiel

Runners up

Richard & Samuel Beattie, Dunloy

Ross Beattie, Ballymoney

 

 


Grassland Farmer of the Year 2023

The competition results were announced with the Overall Award going to The Mitchell family from Banbridge who were commended by the judges for their ‘attention to detail’, ‘improvements achieved in milk from forage’ and ‘overall management and sustainability’. This competition has been generously sponsored by Danske Bank for many years and the awards were handed over by Mark Forsythe, Senior Agribusiness Manager, Danske Bank.

Grassland Farmer of the Year Results:

Overall  Winner                                     Mitchell Family, Banbridge

Runner Up & Grazing Cup                Dale Orr, Downpatrick

Runner Up & Silage Cup                    Jonny Hutchinson, Tobermore

Special Commendation                      Josh Morton, Armagh

BGS Cup                                                     John & Claire Beckett, Donaghacloney


The winners of the 2022 UGS Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition.

The Competition was again generously sponsored by Danske Bank.

Overall Winner

Claire and  John Beckett Donacloney

Grazing Round Cup 

John Milligan Castlewellan

Silage Round Cup

Gordon Mitchell, Banbridge

Special Commendations

Jonny Hutchinson, Tobermore

Dale Orr, Strangford

2020 BGS CUP

Harold Johnston & Sons, Ahoghill



The winners of the 2020 UGS Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition were announced at the 61st Annual Conference on 21st January 2020.

An important feature of the Annual Conference is the presentation of awards in the Society’s Grassland Farmer of the Year competition which was again generously sponsored by Danske Bank. Competition was high and included entries from all over Northern Ireland with first round judging undertaken by Norman McMordie and John Henning. The Final round judging then saw the finalists visited by the 2019 winner John Martin, Dr Sinclair Mayne and Dr Debbie McConnell.

The winners in the Grassland Farmer of the Year competition were as follows:

Overall Winner

Grassland Farmer of the Year                     Harold Johnston & Sons, Ahoghill

Runners Up

Grazing Cup                                                      Robert Patterson, Hillsborough

Silage Cup                                                          Geoffrey Malcomson, Newry

Special Commendation                            Christopher Hamilton, Carrowdore

BGS Regional Cup                                           John Martin, Greyabbey

The judges complemented all of the winners on their dedication to grassland farming and ability to maximise production from grass. Each of the finalists were focused on attention to detail to ensure their farm was performing to it’s optimum despite the vagaries of the weather and local conditions during 2019.

Commenting specifically on the winning farm they commented ‘The Johnston’s demonstrated good measurement and utilisation of grass and silage with optimum use of soil analysis. Cows looked well producing almost 3,500 litres from forage per cow with succession in place and the sons fully involved in day to day decision making on the farm.

The various Awards in the competition were handed over by Rodney Brown, Head of Agribusiness, Danske Bank who again generously sponsored this prestigious competition.

New Society President Charlie Kilpatrick congratulated all of the winners and thanked Danske Bank for sponsoring this important competition in the UGS calendar.

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Winners of the 2019 Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition was announced at the annual conference. Competition was high and included entries from all over Northern Ireland with first round judging undertaken by Hugh McCluggage and John Henning. The final round judging was undertaken by the 2018 winner John Egerton, Dr Sinclair Mayne and competitions secretary Steven Morrison. The competition was again generously sponsored by Danske Bank. Announcement of the winners was carried out by Steven Morrison and the various awards in the competition were handed over by UGS President Jim Freeburn and Rodney Brown, Head of Agribusiness, Danske Bank.

To view Steven Morrison’s presentation click here

The overall winner and Grassland Farmer of the Year was John Martin from Greyabbey.

The Grazing Round was won by John Picken and Gregg Somerville, Hillsborough

The Silage Round was won by Harold Johnston and sons, Ahoghill.

A Special Commendation went to Barry Arthurs, Kircubbin.

The judges complemented all the winners on their dedication to grassland farming and ability to maximise production from grass. Each of the finalists were focused on attention to detail and ensuring their farm was performing to it’s optimum despite the vagaries of the weather and local conditions during 2018.

Commenting Specifically on the one in Martin farm they commented “Monitor to manage is a key feature on the farm with grass swards, livestock and financial performance carefully monitored to enable the best decisions to be made. Through this approach existing management practices have been challenged to achieve higher levels of livestock output from grass”.

All the judges were highly impressed with John’s knowledge and enthusiasm for grass-based sheep production and the high-quality silage conserved in 2018.

UGS President Jim Freeburn thanked Danske bank for their continued sponsorship of this important competition in the UGS calendar.



The winners of the 2018 UGS Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition were announced at the 59 Annual Conference on 23rd January 2018.

The Competition was again kindly sponsored by Danske Bank. Competition was high and included entries from all counties in Northern Ireland. First round judging was undertaken by UGS Past Presidents James morrison and John Henning. The final round of judging then saw the finalists visited by the 2017 winner Reggie Lilburn from Dromore and Competitions Secretary Steven Morrison.

Click on the button below to view the presentation by UGS Competitions Secretary, Steven Morrison.

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The 2017 Grassland Competition was  again well supported with about 20 entrants with a number of new commers.

The UGS is once again indebted to Danske Bank for continued sponsorship of the Grassland Competition.  The first round of judging was undertaken by 6 groups of judges and the final round was judged by Steven Morrison, Grassland Competition Secretary, Alan Wallace, the previous winner and UGS Honorary Secretary, George Reid.

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Overall winner
The Overall winner was Reggie Lilburn a dairy farmer from Dromore Co Down.
Runners up
Runners up were John and Joe Milligan from Castlewellan who run suckler and sheep .enterprises and Roger and Hilary Bell, from Kells who runs a sheep enterprise.
Environmental practice award
The Environmental practice award was won by Gregg Somerville, a dairy farmer from Dromara
new entrant award
A new entrant award was collected by Mark and James Johnston dairy farmers from Ahoghill.
Commendation Award
Andrew Chestnutt from Ballymoney picked up a special commendation for his excellent grassland management for his dairy herd.

The 2016 Grassland Competition was  well supported with about 25 entrants, some of whom had applied for the first time.

The UGS is once again indebted to Danske bank for continued sponsorship of the Grassland Competition.

Overall winner
The Overall winner was Alan Wallace from Templepatrick who has been a past winner.
dairy award
The dairy award went to Chris Catherwood from Newtownards and the beef & sheep award went to John and Joe Milligan from Castlewellan.
Environmental practice award
The Environmental practice award was won by Jonathan Carson, a Suckler producer from Strangford.
new entrant award
A new entrant award was collected by Edward Agnew, a dairy farmer from Annalong.
Commendation Award
John Martin from Greyabbey picked up a special commendation for his excellent grassland management for his sheep flock.

The 2015 Grassland competition once again sponsored by Danske Bank was well supported.

The standard of entries was very high with judges having a difficult task arriving at the winning entries. Steven Morrison and Sam Chesney judged the final round.

Overall winner
The Grassland farmer of the Year award going to Colin Boggs from Banbridge. 
Grazing award
The Grazing award went to Chris Catherwood, Newtownards.
Silage Award
The silage award went to Alan Wallace.
environmental award
The environmental award was won by Sean McBride
Dairy Award
Kevin McGrade was awarded the Dairy Award
Beef/Sheep Section
Roger and Hilary Bell won the Beef/Sheep Section
Commendation awards
John and Joe Milligan were awarded a special commendation awards.

The Ulster Grassland Society 2014 Grassland Competition sponsored by Danske Bank.

It was well supported with a high level of entries and again causing judges difficulties in coming up with the winners in each of the categories.  The final round of judging was carried out by Steven Morrison and the 2013 winner Albert O’Neill.

Overall Winner
The overall winner for the second time was suckler producer Sam Chesney from Kircubbin.
Grazing Award
The grazing round winner was a new entrant, Andrew Chestnutt from Ballymoney.
Silage Award
Alan Wallace won the silage round.
Environmental practice award
Sheep producer Crosby Cleland from Saintfield was  the winner of the Environmental Practice Cup.
Dairy Award
The Dairy Award went to Jason Rankin & Chris Catherwood, Newtownards.
Beef/Sheep award
John and Joe Milligan won the beef/sheep award.
Commendation Award
Special commendations were awarded to David Harpur, Bessbrook and Ian Buchanan, Dungiven.

The Ulster Grassland Society is indebted to Danske Bank for their continued sponsorship of the UGS Grassland Competition.

The final round of the 2013 Grasssland Competition was judged by Steven Morrison, Competition Secretary, and the 2013 Overall winner Albert O’Neill.

Overall winner
The overall winner was Sam Chesney who was the UGS winner in 2012. Congratulations to Sam who now goes forward to the BGS Grassland Competition this year and we wish him all the best.
Farmer of the Year Award
The 2012 UGS Grassland Farmer of the Year was Albert O'Neill, Artigarvan
Grazing Round Award
Brian McCracken, Newtownards, won he Grazing Round Award
Dairy award
Stephen Morrison, Armoy, was the winner of the Dairy award 2013
Silage Round Award
The Silage Round Award 2013 was won by Hilary and Roger Bell,Kells
Beef/Sheep award
Jonathan Carson, was the winner of the Beef/Sheep award 2013
Environmental Practice Award
James Brown, Ballywalter was the Environmental Practice Award winner 2013

The Ulster Grassland Society (UGS) runs an annual “Grassland Farmer Competition”, developed to help farmer members benchmark their own enterprises with some of the best in the Province.

The competition is assessed on grass management and utilisation, silage utilisation/winter feeding arrangements and environmental practice.

The preliminary round of judging was carried out in August/September and final round was completed at the end of December by Competition Secretary Dr Steven Morrison and the 2011 winner, Alan Wallace.  The Competition is very kindly sponsored by Danske Bank.

Overall Winner
Sam Chesney Overall Winner of the 2012 UGS Grassland Competition
Grazing Award
Crosby Cleland, Saintfield, won the Grazing round trophy
Silage Award
Mark Blelock, Crumlin was winner of the Silage round
Environmental Award
The Environmental Award went to Albert O'Neill from Artigarvan
Beef/Sheep Award
John Martin, Greyabbey was winner of the Beef/Sheep Section
Dairy award
Richard Woolsley, Toomebridge was joint winner of the dairy award
commendation award
A special commendation award went to the Rankin & Catherwood partnership,Newtownards.

As is tradition the Annual Grassland Prizes were presented at the UGS Annual Conference.

Sponsored by Northern Bank, the awards reflect the tremendous grassland management standards being achieved by local livestock farmers. At the Conference John Henning, Head of Agricultural Relations at Northern Bank said:

“Grassland farming is a key component of agriculture in NI with 80% of our farmland used for grass production.  The Ulster Grassland Society’s Grassland Farmer of the Year seeks to recognise excellence in grassland farming.  Northern Bank is proud to once again sponsor this prestigious competition and we congratulate all the winners who have demonstrated superb technical performance to maximise output from grass in milk, beef and lamb production”

 

Overall Winner
The 2011 overall winner of the Grassland Farmer of the Year Competition was Alan Wallace from Templepatrick. Alan now goes on to compete in the BGS competition and we wish him well.
GRAZING ROUND Award
2011 Grazing Round Cup was won by Mark Blelock, Crumlin.
silage round Award
The 2011 silage round cup was won by John Martin, Greyabbey.
Dairy Award
The dairy farmer of the year award was picked up by Albert O’neill, Artigarvan
Beef/Sheep award 2011
The beef/sheep award 2011 was awarded to Murtagh Walls, Hilltown.
environmental practice Award
The environmental practice cup was won by Ian Buchanan, Dungiven
Special Commendation Award
A special commendation went to Richard Woolsley, Toomebridge

The Northern Bank once again provided valuable sponsorship for the Ulster Grassland Society Grassland Farmer of the Year competition.

The Ulster Grassland Society (UGS) runs an annual “Grassland Farmer Competition”, developed to help farmer members benchmark their own enterprises with some of the best in the Province.

Overall Winner
Grassland farmer of the Year 2010 was Reggie Lilburn from Dromore.
grazing Award
The grazing round went to Jason Rankin, Newtownards
silage Award
The silage round was won by Alan Wallace, Templepatrick
dairy Award
The dairy Award was won by Albert O'Neill Artigarvan
beef/Sheep award
The beef/Sheep award was won by John Martin, Greyabbey
environmental Award
The environmental practice cup was won by Sean McBride, Ballycastle
Special Commendation Award
A Special Commendation went to Crosby Cleland, Saintfield.

The Ulster Grassland Society (UGS) runs an annual “Grassland Farmer Competition”, developed to help farmer members benchmark their own enterprises with some of the best in the Province.

The Northern Bank once again provided valuable sponsorship for the Ulster Grassland Society Grassland Farmer of the Year competition.

BGS Award
Frank & Colin Boggs, Banbridge
Grassland farmer of the Year
Peter Merron, Portaferry
Grazing Award
Alan Wallace, Templepatrick
Silage Award
John Martin, Greyabbey
Environmental Award
Sean Mcbride, Ballycastle
Dairy Award
William & Trevor Munnis, Kilraughts
Beef/Sheep Award
Crosby Cleleand, Saintfield
Commendations
Robert Keys, Armagh and Gareth Taylor, Kircubbin