Silage Making 2012
Monday 6th February 2012
Alistair Craig, City of Derry YFC, has been named the winner of the Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) 2012 silage making competition sponsored by John Thompson & Sons Limited.
The competition began in November with members from over 30 clubs from throughout Northern Ireland taking part in regional heats. From this the highest scorer from each county made it through to the final.
The finalists were Richard Boyes (Bleary YFC), Andrew Little (Lisbellaw YFC), Adam Wilson (Cappagh YFC), Alistair Craig (City of Derry YFC), Harry Thompson (Randalstown YFC) and Neil Patterson (Spa YFC).
The competitors were assessed by judges Mary Jane Robinson from John Thompson and Sons Limited and David McCracken from Banbridge. The judges travelled to the farm of each finalist and carried out a visual inspection of the silage taking into account its fermentation, digestibility and dry matter content as well as the sealing of the silo and the way in which the effluent was collected. They also conducted an interview with each of the finalists in relation to how the silage was made and their current feeding policy.
Alistair Craig (City of Derry YFC) was announced as this year’s winner with Richard Boyes (Bleary YFC) taking second place and Harry Thompson (Randalstown YFC) was placed third. YFCU would like to thank the judging panel for taking the time to make their expertise available to the Association. It would also like to extend a note of appreciation to John Thompson and Sons Limited for their continued support of this event.
Pictured is Alistair Craig who was named YFCU silage making expert 2012 by judges Mary Jane Robinson and David McCracken (right).
