Bertie judges farming contest
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will be picking Ireland’s top farmer in his latest job since quitting as leader of the country.
Mr Ahern, whose father worked as a farm manager in Dublin, will head a judging panel for the FBD Young Farmer of the Year awards in September.
It emerged yesterday that the Dublin Central TD will guest-present an episode of RTÉ Radio One’s GAA programme, 'The Road to Croker' from Co Kerry later this month.
Mr Ahern, whose father Con worked as a farm manager at All Hallows College in Drumcondra, will be judging six farmers on criteria such as agricultural know-how and community involvement.
The 10th annual Young Farmer awards are being organised by Macra na Feirme and the Irish Farmers’ Association.
A Macra spokeswoman said there is a precedent for former Taoisigh to chair the competition, such as Albert Reynolds.
“Mr Ahern ran the country for more than ten years so I’m sure he can use these skills to help choose a young farmer. He should be well-qualified for the role.” said a Macra spokeswoman.
Other judging criteria include farm business initiative and innovation, levels of farm efficiency and enterprise quality, farm safety and environmental protection.
County rounds of the national competition are currently taking place and twenty-nine farmers will make it through to the final before they are whittled down to six for the grand finale in Kilkenny on September 2.
The top prize is a specially-commissioned sculpture by Irish-based artist Joy Ledin, a travel bursary worth €2,500 and €1,000 spending money.
Last month Mr Ahern was appointed to the World Economic Forum’s body for international conflict resolution and negotiation.
Mr Ahern was chosen because of his role in the North's peace process since becoming Taoiseach in 1997.
