This week the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) recognised Northern Ireland’s (NI) top silage makers of 2022. UFU and sponsors United Feeds, hosted their annual silage competition awards ceremony in the Dunsilly Hotel, Antrim.
Ian Maybin of the Mid Antrim group (dairy), J and E Sloan of the West Antrim group (beef and sheep), G and J O’Boyle of the West Antrim group (bale) and Clifton and Jonathan Dickson of the North East Armagh group (alternative forage) took top honours in the competition, which saw a record number of entries from farmers.
UFU deputy president John McLenaghan said, “The UFU’s annual silage competition has always encouraged excellence and healthy competition among producers, and once again the competition entries were to the highest standard. With input costs continuing at inflated levels, making high-quality silage is more important than ever.
“United Feeds’ advisory team, CAFRE, UFU group managers and most importantly our farmers, have worked hard on ensuring we had a great competition and I would like to thank them all.”
Speaking on behalf of the sponsors, United Feeds Clarence Calderwood said, “We saw some exceptional silage from farmers in each of the categories despite 2022 being a particularly difficult year for silage making in NI. We were delighted with the number of entries again this year and thank the UFU for organising the competition.”
The full list of winners is:
Dairy
1st Ian Maybin, Mid Antrim group
2nd Glenn Faulkner, East Tyrone group
3rd Gordon Mitchell, South West Down group
Beef and sheep
1st J and E Sloan, West Antrim group
2nd Thomas McKelvey, Mid Down group
3rd Roger and Hilary Bell, Ballyclare group
Alternative forage
1st Clifton and Jonathan Dickson, North East Armagh group
2nd Robert Macauley, Mid Down group
3rd Alan Brennan, Larne group
Bales
1st G and J O’Boyle, West Antrim group
2nd Kenneth Totten, South Antrim group
3rd Brian and Stephen Gallen, North Tyrone group
Alternative Forage N.I. winners
Back row (l-r): Ricky Lee Larne group, Avril Macauley North East Armagh group, Derek Lough UFU membership director.
Front row (l-r): Sean Roddy United Feeds, Clifton and Jonathan Dickson (1st place winner), Alan Boyd United Feeds.
Beef/Sheep N.I. winners
Back row (l-r): Linda McNeilly West Antrim group, Evelyn Sloan (1st place winner), Martin Clarke United Feeds.
Front row (l-r): Alan Boyd United Feeds, Jonathan Sloan (1st place winner), Derek Lough UFU membership director, Thomas McKelvey (2nd place winner).
Dairy N.I. winners
Back row (l-r): Bartley Finnegan East Tyrone group, Craig Faulkner (2nd place winner), Desmond Maybin (1st place winner), Lynda Mitchell (3rd place winner), Robert McMullan Mid Antrim group.
Front row (l-r): John McLenaghan UFU deputy president, Glenn Faulkner (2nd place winner), Ian Maybin (1st place winner), Gordon Mitchell (3rd place winner), Kathryn McKeown United Feeds.
Round Bale N.I. winners
Back row (l-r): Clarence Calderwood United Feeds, Linda McNeilly West Antrim group, Greg O’Boyle (1st place winner), Mary Totten (2nd place winner), Ryan McDowell South Antrim group, Derek Lough UFU membership director.
Front row (l-r): Louise McNamee North Tyrone group, Stephen Gallen (3rd place winner), John O’Boyle (1st place winner), John McLenaghan UFU deputy president, Kenneth Totten (2nd place winner), Martin Clarke United Feeds.
