Young Farmer of the Year Winner

Daniel Hawthorne - Young farmer of the Year 2018

Daniel Hawthorne was named the 2018 FBD Young Farmer of the Year in September 2018. On winning the award Daniel said "It’s a big achievement to win. It’s nice to see smaller scale farming standing out when compared to the bigger dairy industry. We’ve a lot of diversity here on the farm with the hens, sucklers and sheep."

Daniel operates a number of enterprises on his farm in Co. Monaghan. "I run a 30 cow Angus suckler cow system. I keep 50 Suffolk Cheviot cross ewes crossed with a Texel ram. I also keep 12,000 free range laying hens selling the eggs." In addition, Daniel finishes 400 store lambs annually.

Farm Safety

Daniel places a very high importance on farm safety on his farm. "I spoke at the National Health and Safety conference in Carlow back in October. I feel that it is an area that needs addressing. There are a number of accidents that are happening on farms that shouldn’t be happening and this needs to be addressed. Especially on the suckler farming side of things, people are trying to do more and more themselves and maybe working off farm aswell. It’s a constant panic to get things done."

"Before I built the hen house, I was working off farm full time. It was hard to get things done on the farm and I was always short on time. Working alone is a key factor in this. If there’s not money to pay people then there is little that can be done to avoid this."

"If I am dosing cows on my own, I always let someone know that I am doing this in case something goes wrong. They would then ring frequently just to make sure all is going well."

Machinery maintenance is a top priority on Daniel’s farm. "We try and keep the machines maintained on a regular basis. To make sure that they are operating in the most efficient manner and to avoid things going wrong that may need further examination. That’s how we prioritise farm safety here on the farm."

Download FBD's farm safety brochure here (pdf) >>

Future plans

Daniel is a new entrant to farming since October. "The plan is to expand the Poultry side of the business and maybe cut back on the suckler side."

For more information on the FBD / Macra Young Farmer of the Year Competition see www.macra.ie/competition-macra-fbd-young-farmer-of-the-year-30.html