A total prize fund worth €30,000 will be up for grabs at the 2025 Teagasc and FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards.
The awards, now in their second year, aim to highlight the progress farmers are making to reduce their impact on the environment, while continuing to produce high quality food, in a profitable manner.
The competition is open to farmers from all of the main enterprises, with the closing date for entries through the Teagasc website on Thursday, March 6, 2025.
The overall winner of the 2025 Teagasc and FBD Environmental Sustainability Awards will receive €10,000. The awards will be presented in late September.
The overall sponsor of the awards is FBD Insurance. They are supported by the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), Bord Bia, and AgNav.
Awards
The launch of the 2025 awards took place on the farm of last year’s winners John and Brendan Walsh from Ballylooby, Co. Tipperary.
The Walsh family demonstrated to the judges their capacity to operate sustainable, profitable farming systems, while incorporating the latest scientific developments and technologies on their farms.
This helped to reduce their greenhouse gases (GHG) and ammonia emissions, improve water quality, enhance biodiversity, and improve soil health and carbon.
Speaking at the launch, Professor Frank O’Mara, director of Teagasc, said “producing food in an environmentally sustainable fashion is perhaps the biggest challenge facing Irish farmers currently”.
“Many farmers are doing a great job farming in an environmentally friendly manner, and we need to hear more of these positive stories of farmers taking steps on their farms to reduce their farm’s environmental footprint, while continuing to produce high quality food profitably.
“Farmers have a key role to play in meeting our environmental challenges and these awards aim to encourage more farmers to make a start and take a step towards a more sustainable future,” O’Mara added.
Michael Berkery, chair of FBD Trust, said the competition celebrates “the outstanding efforts of farmers who are addressing one of the biggest challenges facing Irish agriculture today”.
“We are delighted to see these awards return for a second year, to shine a spotlight on innovative farming practices that balance environmental stewardship with maintaining output and profitability,” he said.