Lagan UFU group focus

It was a fantastic night and an opportunity for members to enjoy a great meal and superb entertainment as well as catchup with friends from neighbouring groups. Most importantly it also helped raise funds for an extremely worthwhile charity and the chair’s chosen charity, Diabetes UK.

On 12 February, the group held their AGM which saw vice-chair James Baird being elected to the position of group chair. The group would like to wish James well for his term and thank outgoing chair, Martin Scott for his commitment and hard work over the past few years. On the evening prior to the AGM, George Mullan, ABP NI managing director and chair of NIFDA spoke to both the Lagan and South-West Down UFU groups. George provided an overview of the ABP group, their products, programmes, and sustainability work. After his presentation he answered a variety of questions from members around ABP and challenges facing the livestock sectors.

The Lagan Group then had their annual trip on 21 February which was extremely well attended. The first stop of the day was to Derryduff Farm, a large dairy farm in Dungiven ran by the Semple family. The group then had lunch at Roe Park Resort before a visit to DA Forgie, Limavady and Hogg Engineering, Claudy. The last stop of the day was a steak dinner at Glenavon House Hotel. A fantastic day was had by all, and our thanks go to the three hosts for showing us around their impressive businesses.

Some notable successes for the group this year were the winners of the group silage competition. Well done to William Gamble (big bale), Beattie and Reggie Lilburn (dairy), J Ward and Sons (beef/sheep), Alastair Smyth (alternative forage) and Stephen Glen (newcomer). A special mention goes to Beattie and Reggie Lilburn who came third in the dairy section of the overall UFU NI silage competition.

With agricultural show season fast approaching, the group are looking forward to once again having a stand at the Lurgan Agricultural Show on 1 June 2024. Hopefully the weather improves, and the show is a great success for organisers, exhibitors and competitors. If attending the show, please call at our stand for a cup of tea, a biscuit and most importantly a chat!