Latest news with #BordBia
Agriland
4 hours ago
- Business
- Agriland
Bord Bia's Bloom attracts 100,000 visitors over five day festival
Bord Bia's annual Bloom festival, held annually over the June Bank Holiday weekend, attracted 100,000 visitors this year according to figures released on its concluding day (Monday, June 2). The gardening and food festival which takes place each year in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, was originally launched to promote plants, garden design, horticulture and gardening. However over nearly two decades Bord Bia has developed the festival to also create a food and drink experience and promote learning experiences in gardening, growing fruit and vegetables, cooking and culture. Jim O'Toole, Bord Bia's chief executive, believes the festival now has an 'enduring popularity'. He added: 'Bloom 2025 has been a fantastic success — we welcomed wonderful crowds over the five days, enjoyed mostly favourable weather, and the atmosphere throughout the show has been incredibly positive. 'As we wrap up this year's event, excitement is already building for a very special milestone: Bord Bia Bloom's 20th anniversary in 2026.' Bloom Two of the key themes of each Bord Bia Bloom festival are sustainability and waste reduction and many elements of the 2025 show and feature gardens will be relocated follwing the event. The Grass Advantage garden – designed by Robert Moore and sponsored by the National Dairy Council Source Bord Bia Every element of the Grass Advantage garden, designed by Robert Moore and sponsored by the National Dairy Council 'will be reused, replanted, or repurposed' after the festival. According to Bord Bia the alder, hazel and field maple trees will be rehomed in a woodland setting in Wicklow while the weathered corrugated steel will return to dairy shed in Stamullen, County Meath. The milk churn structure will be reused as a focal point in a community garden, and the stone walls and stone-pave paving will be reused in a community allotment. Meanwhile the Estate's Essence garden, designed by Patrik Weisser and sponsored by Abbeyleix House and Farm, will be brought back to Abbeyleix House and Farm in County Laois where they will be used to build on the gardens at the estate. Awards As part of the celebrations to mark the final day of the festival two awards were also unveiled today including the People's Choice Award, voted for by visitors who chose their favourite show garden. This year it was awarded to Tulsa's 'Fostering is for You' garden designed by Pip Probert. Meanwhile Bloom garden designers also get a chance to vote on their favourite garden and this year the Designer's Choice Award was presented to Louise Checa who designed the gold medal winning Citroen Downsizers' Garden. Bord Bia has also confirmed today that Bloom 2026 will take place from Thursday, May 28 to Monday, June 1.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Over 20,000 people attend fourth day of Bloom
Today at 13:44 Over 20,000 people flocked to the Phoenix Park in Dublin today for the fourth day of Bord Bia Bloom. Around 100,000 visitors are expected to attend the five-day festival over the June bank holiday weekend, finishing on Monday. Celebrity chef Donal Skehan had a smashing time during his cooking demonstration at the festival over the weekend, when the stage oven shattered during his segment, sending glass and pieces of the oven towards the chef while cooking Korean chicken. 'When you're in the kitchen, disasters may happen, that is probably the worst thing that has even happened to me,' Mr Skehan told the laughing crowd. 'Had a smashing day. It's been ten years but I'm thrilled to be back with a bang,' he shared on his social media after the demo. 'I always get asked what my worst kitchen disaster has been, well it happened today live in front of 100s of people. 'A huge thank you to the amazing audience I've ever had a for a cookery demo, you honestly kept me going during the craziest moment in the kitchen. I will remember this forever. 'No home cooks were harmed in the making. The incredible crew at Bord Bia had the oven replaced in less than an hour.' Following the interruption, Mr Skehan carried on with the cooking demonstration and told the crowd 'it's back to business'. The sun was shining for most of the day between scattered showers, with temperatures reaching 18 degrees. Tomorrow is set to be mostly dry with spells of sunshine with highest temperatures of 17 degrees. Meanwhile, Bloom designer Joe Eustace said he has looked up to the garden designers at Bloom since he was a child. ADVERTISEMENT 'There's photos of me as a child in a boogie at Bloom,' he told the Irish Independent. "I idolised the designers the same way that someone else my age may idolise a football player or a rugby player. "To be up here now, competing on the same stage as them, learning from the designers, they've all been absolutely fantastic, and taking me under their wing. 'It's a real watershed moment for me, because I'm here now, and I'm in the position that I would have looked up to a lot when I was a kid. "And I just hope that there's some kid at the show this year that was in the same position as me, and that they can look and see that it is possible and they can come and bring new life into the industry the same way that I fell into it,' he added. Mr Eustace from Newbridge, who is a co-founder of Online Garden Designs, was the first winner of the Boom Bia Bloom cultivating talent initiative in 2022. He has participated in Ireland's largest gardening festival ever since, and is currently completing a master's at UCD. His second show garden at last year's Bloom, the Citroen Floating Lounge Garden, won a gold medal. "My father was a landscape contractor, and so when I was 13 years old, I was out helping him. I had a shovel in my hand, and from there, it's built on. 'I did my first show garden in Bloom in 2023, and I've delivered a garden ever since, I've never looked back, so it's been a great experience so far. And long may it last," he added. Mr Eustace designed the Support Garden this year, sponsored by the Decision Support Service, which won a silver gilt medal at the festival. It has a steel fireplace at its centre, which symbolises the donor of an Enduring Power of Attorney. The garden has two bespoke chairs and is surrounded by a steel pergola, which supports the fireplace and stands for the network of trust built between the donor, their attorney, and the people that surround them. 'What it represents is the profoundly vulnerable moment where someone has to confront the idea of advanced planning, so someone who may be fearful that, in the future, they may make it in an accident or develop a decision impairment disorder such as Alzheimer's or dementia,' said Mr Eustace. 'Essentially, what this garden is all about is planting the seeds now that will flower in the future, and that's what advanced planning is about. "The metaphor of the space is that the central fireplace represents a person who is at the centre of one of these agreements, and then this support network that spans throughout the space represents the friends and family of that person and the decision support service. 'The fireplace is floating and it's being lifted, so the support network that's in place is supporting the person even when they can't support or decide for themselves. 'The planting for the space is chosen for that idea of support, so it's planting that's going to support pollinators,' he added. Una FitzGibbon, director of marketing at Bord Bia said: 'Bloom 2025 has been an incredible success so far, and we are thrilled with the enthusiastic participation from both visitors and exhibitors alike. 'The feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive, and it's clear that Bloom continues to deliver a memorable experience for all. As we approach the final day, the forecast is looking good, so we encourage everyone to come, make the most of this fantastic event and grab a bargain on the final day.'
Agriland
2 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Fall in beef kill coming from cow and young bull categories
The drop-off in weekly beef kill supplies is coming predominantly from fewer cows and young bulls being slaughtered, latest Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) figures indicate. In the week ending Sunday, May 25, 28,800 cattle were slaughtered at DAFM-approved factories, which was 2,400 head below the kill from the same week of last year. The majority of this drop-off is coming from reduced cow and young bull kill numbers, with steer kill numbers on par with and heifer kill numbers down slightly on the corresponding week of 2024. The table below details cattle supplies in the week ending Sunday, May 25, compared to the same week of last year, and the cumulative kill to date this year compared to last year: Category Week ending Sunday, May 25 Equivalent Last Year Cumulative 2025 Cumulative 2024 Young Bulls 2,009 2,779 48,378 50,398 Bulls 539 637 10,068 10,587 Steers 11,249 11,244 266,467 256,035 Cows 6,059 7,195 162,817 175,043 Heifers 8,945 9,353 235,543 211,700 Total 28,801 31,208 723,273 703,763 The young bull kill has been in decline for several years now, and factories had been highly vocal in the past about the reduced interest in young bulls. While factories are not actively encouraging or discouraging young bull beef production, most of the major beef processors in Ireland are happy to accept well-finished young bulls from suppliers with which they have established working relationships. Beef kill numbers have been in decline since late February but had still been running above 2024 kills until May of this year, when weekly supplies dipped under weekly kills from May 2024. The graph below illustrates how weekly beef kill numbers this year have been comparing to last year: The drop-off in supplies has managed to edge the beef prices paid to farmers up slightly in the past two weeks. Most factories have reduced the number of days they are killing as supply forecasts indicate beef cattle availability to be reduced for the remainder of the year. Despite the drop-off in cattle supplies, the total number of cattle slaughtered to date this year is still 19,500 head above last year. The initial projection for the 2025 Irish factory prime cattle beef kill was a drop of 5%, but Bord Bia has recently revised this figure to 7-8% as a result of the strong supply in the first four months of this year.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RTÉ News
Sustainability and the circular economy main themes of Bloom 2025
Sustainability and the circular economy are among the main themes at this year's Bloom event, which gets under way at Dublin's Phoenix Park today. Now in its 19th year, over 100,000 visitors are expected to attend what is the country's largest gardening festival across the next five days. Bloom is hosting 21 show and feature gardens, with issues relating to climate change, the environment, and sustainable living featuring strongly. This includes 11 'Postcard Gardens' created by community groups from all over the country, 16 environmental and conservationist groups in the conservation area, as well as 17 Irish plant nurseries and floral artists exhibiting. Over 100 food and drink companies are exhibiting at the event, which also includes live talks, demonstrations, and musical performances. Sponsored by Bord Bia, Bloom is aiming to be the most sustainably operated large-scale event in the country. Organisers say that last year over 21,000 litres of water were used to refill reusable bottles at hydration stations, two tonnes of used coffee grounds were collected and donated to the OPW for use in composting, and over 20,000 visitors travelled to the event using public transport. President Michael D Higgins, a patron of Bloom, will officially open the festival with an address this afternoon. The event runs from 9am to 6pm daily until Monday, 2 June.
Agriland
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Agriland
Watch: Gardens showcase agri food sector at Bloom festival
Featured gardens from across the agri food sector are being showcased at the Bloom festival in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, this week (May 2025). The festival, which is sponsored by Bord Bia, is running from Thursday, (May 29) until Monday, (June 2). It is being held on an 70ac site surrounding the visitor centre in the park. Speaking at the launch of the festival today (Wednesday, May 28), Bord Bia's meat, food and beverages, John Murray told Agriland about the importance of the horticulture sector to the Irish market. He said: 'Bord Bia have been involved with bloom since the very beginning. Way back at the start, it was all about trying to promote the horticulture industry, and create an opportunity for consumers to engage with horticulture. 'Our remit takes horticulture into play. The industry is orientated towards the domestic market. It's one of those unsung heroes in terms of what it delivers for the Irish market,' Murray explained. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) sponsored a garden at the festival called 'Nature's Symphony: Celebrating Organic Growth'. The garden seeks to highlight the commitment that Ireland has made to advancing the country's agriculture sector. One of the designers of the garden, Oliver Schurmann said: 'We should be growing more things organically and embracing nature more than just trying to work against nature. 'We've chosen to only use plants like potatoes, broad beans, barley and oats. Other parts of the garden, it's like an amphitheatre. We have a stage to celebrate nature, to embrace nature, and as a link to the Arás. ' 'Growing organically is all about improving the soil. If we have healthy good soil we're holding back nutrition and water, the perfect conditions to grow healthy, tasty produce,' Schurmann explained. Another garden that showcased Ireland's biodiversity, is the 'Into the Forest' garden, designed by Sarah Cotterill. The garden, which is sponsored by Westland, is inspired by the wet woodlands in the west of Ireland. Cotterill explained that the garden is filled with a combination of native and non-native woodland. 'We have a lush tree canopy with lots of birches, some oak samplings popping up, and some twisted hazels that give it a weathered wild feel,' Cotterill explained. 'During the build we've had birds, butterflies, bees, ladybirds, a squirrel, lots going on in the garden,' she added. Bloom festival Other gardens at the festival highlighted the importance of Ireland's dairy sector. For the first time, the Kerry Group has a garden in the festival. The 'Nature Wrapped in Gold' garden aims to celebrate Kerry Group's routes, and its connection to the farming community. Ornua's Lynn Andrews explained that the group has admired the Bloom festival for a number of years. She told Agriland: 'All of our dairy is grass-fed. That gives it that unique taste and extra creamy texture. It celebrates biodiversity. 'Our garden has the habitat tower, that is designed to let birds nest at different heights. So it can become a welcome home for every little creature, from small robins, to sparrows, to moths and bats as well.' The National Dairy Council also sponsored a garden, called 'The Grass Advantage', which was designed by Robert Moore. At the centre of the garden is a large milk churn sculpture, which symbolises the cultural importance of Irish dairy production. Moore said: 'It's about dairy farming and the sustainable practices within dairy farming, and also shows the beauty of the product. 'The milk is born of the land, and we have such an advantage in terms of the land quality for dairy farming,' he added.
