Carlow man Brian Fitzpatrick, who has been running a thriving family dairy enterprise in County Kildare for the past six years, picked up the prestigious Career Farm Management Award at the 2025 Young Farmer of the Year Awards. Brian was not slow to dedicate the award to the entire team working alongside him at Castlefarm Dairy.
The best farmers in Ireland were recognised at the annual FBD Young Farmer of the Year Awards at the Killashee Hotel, Naas, County Kildare on Tuesday evening, September 9th, 2025. Amongst the winners on the night was Career Farm Management Award recipient Brian Fitzpatrick, who didn’t have to travel too far to participate in the festivities as he is farm manager at Castlefarm Dairy in Narraghmore, near Athy.
“It was absolutely brilliant,” the Carlow native reflects. “It was a very enjoyable night and it was nice to meet everyone and to catch up with people. It’s a massive thing for young farmers and just to be in attendance is an honour, never mind being on the shortlist for the overall award.”
Taking the Career Farm Management Award back to Castlefarm Dairy was a remarkable achievement: “Obviously, it’s very encouraging to have your farm management skills recognised,” Brian continues. “From a personal point of view, it gives you a real boost and adds a little spring to your step. Everybody here at the farm, including the owners Peter and Jenny, got a real kick out of it. Everybody is delighted, although the magnitude of it probably hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
Formerly a successful mixed organic farming business, Castlefarm Dairy is owned by the aforementioned hands-on husband-and-wife team Peter and Jenny Young, and Brian is keen to stress that it’s complete team effort that resulted in him scooping a Young Farmer of the Year award…
“I always say to anybody here or in discussion groups that it’s not about me – there’s no ‘i’ in team. Peter and Jenny have been a massive help in my career, in driving it on, and I wouldn’t be where I am without them.
“I’ve been here for six great years and I can’t thank them enough. Only for them, it’s possible that I wouldn’t even be involved in dairy or in farming – that’s how much I owe them. I had worked previously on another dairy farm for two years and after that was strongly considering following in my father’s footsteps and pursuing a career in carpentry. But Peter and Jenny put their faith in me and I haven’t looked back.
“All the guys here are fantastic and I’m happy to share this award with all of them. Andrew has been here for 30 years and his contribution is immeasurable. Andrew’s worth his weight in gold. He is the life and soul of the place and is involved in all aspects of the work, from milking to looking after the machinery. The relief milkers Dermot and Joe are also massively important. I can’t find the words to describe Andrew, Joe and Dermot’s value to the system. Everybody puts their shoulder to the wheel and works together as a team.”
The amazing thing about Brian is that he comes from a non-farming background: “I’m not from a farming background at all,” he confirms. “My mother is a nurse and my father is a self-employed carpenter. There’s nobody in the family who had a farm. My brothers are all teachers or training to be teachers, but I opted to go down a different road. I’m what you could call a first-generation farmer.”
How did a young townie end up becoming an award-winning dairy farm manager? “I always had an interest in farming. I lived in Carlow town until I was five and we then moved into the country, close to The Fighting Cocks Pub. From the age of six, I used to frequently call up to a neighbour of mine, Barry Esmonde, who is a sheep and beef farmer. I still call up there regularly. That’s where the interest started.
“It just continued on from there. When I went to secondary school, most of my friends were farmers. Tom Murphy, one of my best friends, was a dairy farmer and I started to step into the parlour. Tom and his parents Breda and Dinny and his brother John were also a big influence on me and I can’t thank them enough.”
At Castlefarm Dairy, Brian oversees a young herd of 350 cows with a spring-calving system. His time there has seen the business migrate fully from an organic mixed farm to a dairy enterprise exclusively. “There were 150 organic cows when I started here. We then bought 200 in-calf heifers and are five years out of organic now,” he notes.
“During that time, Peter and Jenny have invested massively in the business, including a new parlour, new cubicle shed, a slurry lagoon and an underpass. It’s a big dairy herd now but we have plenty of help in the spring time. Jenny rears all the calves and Peter and myself look after the cows. Meanwhile, Andrew, Joe and Dermot and some other local people dig in and help out too and there’s always plenty of help when there’s a heavy workload.”
The herd is a high-performing one and Brian focuses intently on making sure he consistently drives up the performance year on year. Productivity, efficiency, quality and sustainability are all enhanced greatly by the incorporation of clover into the grassland swards on up to 35 per cent of the grazing platform. The use of clover is something Brian picked up from the owners’ erstwhile organic farm model and has embedded successfully into the dairy system.
“Peter and Jenny did all the groundwork here and still work extremely hard. I’m taking a lot of their ideas and driving them on. They previously ran a very successful organic farm but since they decided to step away from that we’ve maintained that same vision, even though we are 100 per cent dairy now, supplying all our milk to Tirlán.”
Looking to the future, it’s onwards and upwards for Brian, Jenny, Peter, Andrew, Dermot, Joe and everybody else associated with Castlefarm Dairy, although of course in farming there are never any guarantees as to what might be around the next corner…
“Milk prices are brilliant at the minute and things have been really good. Derogation is the elephant in the room and if we don’t get it, that’ll have a huge impact and will hamper young people who want to come into the sector. Family farms both large and small will also be massively affected. TB is also a cause for concern and also, what way is CAP going to go?
“But, amidst all the uncertainty and worries, we have to be positive,” Brian concludes. “And there’s a lot to be positive about. We can celebrate the role of family farms in Irish society. Every farm is a family farm, really, and generational renewal is hugely important.
“I’ve been involved in Macra na Ferime down through the years and the ex-president Elaine Houlihan beat that drum a lot while the new national president Josephine O’Neill is doing the same, and highlighting that we have to get more young people involved in farming and encourage them to stay.”
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 13 No 3, Winter 2025
Brian Fitzpatrick. Castlefarm Dairy, Featured
