Mayo breeder wins at Champion Cow Competition

MAYO dairy breeder Aidan Foody has returned to his farm in Ballina with three prizes under his belt from the recent Diageo Baileys Champion Cow Competition.

Diageo and its cream supplier, Glanbia Ireland, have co-sponsored the competition which takes place at the Virginia Show in Co. Cavan for the past 35 years. It rewards strength and form in body conformation as well as proven excellence in quality milk production.

Aidan won third place overall in the contest, as well as Best Heifer in Milk with his cow Sprucerove Apples Peggy and also Best Protein Award for a second cow, Sprucerove Lavanguard Peggy.

Widely acknowledged as Ireland’s top dairy livestock event, attracting the super-elite of the Holstein Friesian breed, the top awards in the €10,000 prize fund were presented by the vice-president of the European Parliament, MEP Mairead McGuiness, Robert Murphy, head of Baileys Operations, Diageo Baileys Global Supply, and Martin Keane, chairman of Glanbia Ireland.

Speaking afterwards, Robert Murphy said: “Baileys is one of the great international food and drink success stories to come out of Ireland. The Diageo Baileys Champion Cow event celebrates the drink’s heritage and the source of its primary raw ingredient, namely the farmlands and rich pastures of this island, that give our agri-food industry such world-class credentials.”