Cork farmer Kay O’Sullivan has been named the EU’s Best Organic Female Farmer at a ceremony in Brussels.
O’Sullivan, who runs Glynn Organic Farm in Mourneabbey, County Cork, received the award today on EU Organic Day.
The award was granted in recognition of “innovative, sustainable and inspiring projects across the organic value chain.”
A fifth-generation farmer and the first woman to farm at Glynn Organic Farm, Kay O’Sullivan made the decision to convert to organic production.
“I am the fifth-generation farmer here on the farm and I am the first female farmer,” she said. “I converted to organics because I was a pedigree sheep breeder and costs were too high.”
Ms O’Sullivan farms 63 hectares, keeping approximately 70 cows and calves and 90 sheep and lambs. Her grass-based system does not use purchased grain or meal. Instead, she relies on multispecies swards, including plantain, clover and chicory, as well as diverse forage crops and regular grass measurements.
The farm’s silage provides a high-protein winter feed for cattle, while the wider system has reduced external feed inputs, improved soil health and supported efficient grazing.
“With organics, you don’t have the quick fix,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s a lot of trial and error … but it’s a case of not giving up.”
She said the award was a source of pride for women in farming and the wider organic sector.
“This award makes me very proud,” she said. “It is great for female farmers. It is brilliant for the organic sector and it’s brilliant here for the parish.”
John Fitzpatrick from the Irish Farmers Association congratulated Kay O’Sullivan, describing her farm as “highly efficient” and an example of productive organic farming in Ireland.
More than 5,600 Irish farmers are now farming organically, covering 5.6 per cent of the national land area. Government policy aims to increase the share of organic agricultural land to 10 per cent by 2030.