Kilkenny dairy farmer and producer Gail Daniels was a double winner this week as she was crowned the Best Artisan Dairy Product 2024 (non-cheese) and also won the Ifac Best Dairy Product Innovation 2024 for her Bó Bar soap.
Daniels was among the hopefuls at the Midlands Hotel in Portlaoise on Thursday night for the second annual National Dairy Awards.
Bó Bar Soap is a handmade cow’s milk soap using milk from their family-run dairy farm in Kilmoganny as a 100% water replacement. Originally started as a chemical-free way to treat her daughter’s eczema, it soon became a passion that escalated to a business following positive feedback from friends and family.
Judges for the National Dairy Awards said of the Kilmoganny entry that it was a “Beautifully aromatic bar of soap that washes really well and leaves skin feeling very soft and moisturised. The quality of the ingredients used is evident, and the packaging and branding is clever and really stands out. Particularly enjoy the udder logo and the spotted cow wrapping paper.”
You might not be able to eat it (I generally wouldn’t recommend eating soap), but you sure should be able to come out nice and clean because of it. Plus it’s great to see another food and drink-inspired product doing so well coming out of Kilkenny.
In all, 21 awards were presented on Thursday night, celebrating the high achievers who continue to develop and strengthen the Irish dairy industry. Other noteworthy winners on the night included Mary Kinston who brought home both the Grassland Agro Best Dairy Advisor of the Year award and the AXA Overall National Dairy Award Winner while Professor Donagh Berry won the Agri Insider Dairy Leader of the Year award on the night.
2024 National Dairy Awards Winners
- Biodiversity Farmer of the Year: James and Rachel Creighton
- Tech Innovator Dairy Farmer of the Year: John Hanrahan
- Best Dairy Research Programme/Project: Farm Zero C
- Dairy Discussion Group of the Year: Royal Tara Group
- Dairy Vet of the Year: Marie Louise Ryan, Mulcair Vets
- Best Artisan Dairy Cheese: Kylemore Cheese
- Best Aristan Dairy Product (Non-cheese): Gail Daniels, Bó Bar Soap
- Best Dairy Advisor of the Year: Mary Kinston
- Best Dairy Product Innovation 2024: Gail Daniels, Bó Bar Soap
- Dairy Farmer of the Year: Peter Clarke, Tipperary
- Young Dairy Farmer of the Year: Rikki Bayer
- Social Media Ambassador of the Year: Louise Crowley
- Best Dairy Producer / Co-op of the Year: Dairygold Co-op
- Best Dairy Sustainability Initiative of the Year: Farm Zero C
- Responsible Dairy Grassland Manager of the Year: Martin Ryan, Tipperary
- Dairy Farm Manager of the Year: Kevin O’Hanlon
- Best Dairy Sustainability Driver: Dinny Galvin, west Kerry / Dingle Hub
- Dairy Leader of the Year: Donagh Berry
- Overall National Dairy Award Winner: Mary Kinston
- Dairy Marketing Campaign of the Year: Lakeland Dairies
- Dairy Innovatation Recognition Award: Agri Data Analytics
