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Agriland
32 minutes ago
- Agriland
Ornua products see wins at international dairy competition
Irish dairy product producer Ornua, which makes the Kerrygold butter brand, has seen a number of wins at an international competition for cheese and dairy products. The International Cheese and Dairy Awards, which took place in Staffordshire in England, featured some 3,750 entries from various countries. According to Ornua, the competition is the world's largest cheese and dairy competition, and was judged by "leading international industry experts". The Irish dairy business said it won 23 awards in total, including four "major trophies", six gold awards, six silver awards, and seven bronze awards. Ornua's Vintage Cheddar, made by Tirlán at its Ballyragget plant in Co. Kilkenny, won the DSM Trophy for the Best Single Vintage Creamery/Block Cheddar. Other awards were presented to Ornua for cheese supplied by Carbery, Dairygold and Tirlán's plant in Co. Wexford. Ornua said these wins "demonstrate the range and supreme quality of Irish cheese and expertise of Ornua's member co-ops". The business' Pilgrims Choice cheddar brand - the second-most popular cheddar brand in the UK according to Ornua - won seven awards, including three gold awards, three silver awards, and one bronze award. It also won three "major trophies" for its Extra Mature Cheddar. These awards were for Reserve Champion Overseas, Champion Overseas Cheddar, and Best Irish Cheddar. The Pilgrims Choice "Inclusions" range won a number of awards for its blended chesses, including in the Best Additive Cheese category, in which three different products from the range won the gold, silver and bronze awards. Apart from the award wins for cheese products, Ornua's flagship product, Kerrygold, won five awards. Kerrygold Unsalted Butter received a gold award, while the 'Sweet Spreadable' range won a number of awards, including two silver awards for on product in the dairy/butter spread category and the flavoured butter category. Another Kerrygold 'Sweet Spreadable' product won two bronze medals, also in the dairy/butter spread and flavoured butter category.
Agriland
35 minutes ago
- Agriland
HSA: 1,480 agriculture, forestry and fishing inspections in 2024
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) carried out 1,480 workplace inspections across the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors last year according to its latest annual report. Overall the HSA conducted 11,667 workplace inspections and investigations across all economic sectors in 2024, with a "particular focus on high-risk areas" including construction, agriculture, manufacturing and healthcare. Although the latest annual report highlights that "there was a welcome decline in the number of reported workplace fatalities", the authority also said that every fatality was a preventable tragedy. Patricia Byron, chair of the HSA said: 'We acknowledge with deep regret the 34 lives lost in Irish workplaces in 2024. "Every life lost is a stark reminder of why we must continue to invest in prevention, education and enforcement. "The HSA remains steadfast in its commitment to working with all stakeholders to prevent future tragedies and to fostering a national culture of safety and health at work.' It is 35 years since the HSA was first established and according to Mark Cullen, interim chief executive officer of the authority, its key objective is "ultimately about protecting lives". "Our vision remains clear: to deliver healthy and safe working lives and contribute to productive enterprises in every part of Ireland," he added. The 2024 annual report also shows that the HSA carried out 413 assessments of industrial products ranging across machinery, lifts, personal protective equipment (PPE) and transportable pressure equipment. "Where products were found to be non-compliant, these were removed from the market. Four safety alerts were issued in 2024, highlighting products of serious concern. "The HSA completed two EU joint action market surveillance projects on circular saws and scissor lifts, with appropriate follow-up undertaken where products were found to be non-compliant," the authority added. Last year the authority also ran a number of awareness-raising campaigns specifically focused around agriculture, including a national farm safety campaign in May which focused on "the safe use of tractors and other machinery and vehicles". Among its other campaigns in 2024 was one initiative centred around the health and wellbeing of farmers, which warned that people working in agriculture are at higher risk of certain health and wellness conditions due to the nature of their work. These include stroke and heart disease. The HSA also ran a two-week nationwide inspection campaign in 2024 focusing on working at height in agricultural settings. According to the authority, there have been an estimated 98 fatalities as a result of falls from height in Irish workplaces - of which 20 were on Irish farms - in the last decade.
Agriland
35 minutes ago
- Agriland
Opinion: What constitutes an Irish tillage farmer must be clearly defined
The recent income projections calculated by Teagasc highlight the need to clearly define what constitutes the term 'an Irish tillage farmer'. The current scenario allows for livestock income from subsidiary livestock enterprises to be included within a tillage enterprise assessment. And herein lies the problem. The projected increase in tillage incomes published by Teagasc can be entirely attributed to the increase in cattle prices recorded over recent months. So what about the 4,000 Irish tillage farmers whose enterprises are centred entirety on the growing of crops? They are now looking at a scenario within which they have no option but to absorb the 10% reduction in international grain prices, recorded over the past year. And it doesn't take Albert Einstein to work out that their incomes will be impacted accordingly. So the question arises: should Teagasc and, for that matter, the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine (DAFM) introduce a new and additional tillage definition which recognises those farmers that grow crops exclusively? It is an issue that has much more than abstract farm income assessments linked to it. For example, over the coming weeks the government will be finalising its plans linked to Budget 2026. It would be very easy for ministers to take a peripheral look at the recent Teagasc income assessments, and conclude that the tillage sector is on an upward economic trajectory. In reality, however, very large numbers of farmers who commit to solely growing crops are continuing to make more than significant losses. This is the real story of Irish tillage in 2025. Moreover, it is on the basis of such assessments that decisions to support - or not to support - the tillage sector will be made. And this principle is equally relevant for the upcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) review as it is for Budget 2026. Ireland's Climate Change Act contains a fundamental commitment to expand the footprint of the tillage sector. The target that has been set is a cropping area of 400,000ha by 2030. However, we are still some 70,000ha short of this projection. And, at the end of the day, it is those farmers committed to the growing of crops only who have the wherewithal to expand the tillage sector. They have the equipment and genuine know how to make this happen in the most efficient way possible. It would make absolute sense for government to recognise this fundamental reality.
