Daniel Drum, a 28-year-old dairy beef and tillage farmer from Delvin, has been named Westmeath Young Farmer of the Year and will go on to represent the county at the 11th annual FBD Young Farmer of the Year Competition, run by Macra na Feirme in partnership with the IFA.
Daniel will compete against 25 of the country’s other top young farmers in the national final, which takes place in the Breaffy House Hotel, Castlebar, Co Mayo on August 31 and September 1. The title has never gone to Westmeath before and Daniel hopes to change that this year.
The aim of this prestigious competition is to recognise and reward the top young farmers in the country. Entrants are judged according to a number of criteria including farm business initiative and innovation, levels of farm efficiency and enterprise quality, farm safety and environmental protection awareness, as well as agricultural knowledge and community involvement.
Macra na Feirme national president and former winner of this competition in 2003, Michael Gowing, says, “Winning this award myself was a great honour; to compete against your peers and to learn from them is a valuable experience. These young trained farmers can inspire others to innovate, adopt best farming practices, compete effectively in a global market and meet the ever changing demands of today's society. They are implementing both good agricultural as well as environmental practises and maintaining rigourous standards on their farms; they invest their time and are dedicated to this industry.
”This competition recognises their sheer hard work and we must not forget the contribution our young farmers make to our country’s well deserved reputation for excellence.”
Daniel now goes forward to compete for the national prize of a travel bursary worth €2,500 and €1,000 spending money.
