Co Armagh farmer wins UFU spring barley competition

Spring Barley - David Gilmore with his children Rebekah and Daniel

Second place this year was awarded to David Gilmore from the UFU North Down Group, and scooping up a respectable third place was Ivan and David Curry from the UFU North East Derry Group.

This year took a different format in order to comply with coronavirus restrictions. There were less judges at group level and also for the Northern Ireland final, however a county stage was introduced. The county winners were:

Antrim – James Kyle, North Antrim Group

Spring Barley - Richard and Victor Hunniford (Hunniford Bros) with Victor's son Jacob

Armagh – Hunniford Farms, North East Armagh Group

Down – David Gilmore, North Down Group

Londonderry – Ivan and David Curry, North East Derry Group

Tyrone – Ian and Phillip Loughrin, South Tyrone

Speaking on behalf of the judges Iain Johnston said: “It was a great day judging and was a very close competition. Unfortunately, most crops had sustained damage from the thunderstorms but there was still an excellent crop to be judged.”

UFU deputy president William Irvine said: “I would like to extend my congratulations to all finalists and thank all those who entered this year’s competition.

“The UFU cereals competition recognises the talent of cereal growers in Northern Ireland.

“I would also like to thank all those who volunteered their time from group, county and Northern Ireland final level to judge many entries across the country.”

The awards for the winter barley, oats, winter wheat and spring barley cereal competition categories will be officially presented at the 2021 UFU and sponsors cereals competition awards and lunch planned for later this year.