Tirlán supplier Cheryl Poole wins prestigious European Farming Innovation Award

Pictured receiving the Innovation Award for Women Farmers at the 2025 COPA-COGECA Awards in Brussels are Tirlán Supplier Cheryl Poole with EU’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen.

Tirlán is delighted to announce that our supplier Cheryl Poole has won the Innovation Award for Women Farmers at the 2025 COPA-COGECA European Awards in Brussels.

The prestigious Innovation Award for Women Farmers celebrates women driving sustainability, resilience, and innovation in European agriculture.

A European-wide competition, the five outstanding finalists were from Ireland, Belgium, Hungary, Poland, and Italy. This year’s award theme, “Women making waves in sustainable water systems”, highlights how women farmers are leading the transition toward more sustainable water use and management in agriculture. 

Damien O’Reilly, EU Affairs & Communications Manager, Irish Cooperative Organisation Society (ICOS) said “This is an incredible achievement for Cheryl to be honoured at European level. These prestigious awards attract huge interest from right across Europe in highlighting the immense contribution which women make to innovative farming. Cheryl’s passion for farming and dedication to protecting nature and improving water quality was highlighted to stakeholders across Europe including EU Agriculture Commissioner Christoph Hansen at the awards ceremony in Brussels. It gave a great snapshot of the work which is happening on farms throughout Ireland to protect water quality. This is a great win for the Poole family, for Tirlán Co-op and we in ICOS are delighted to have supported her entry and to congratulate Cheryl for this amazing success.”

A passionate dairy farmer from County Wexford, Cheryl farms together with her husband Alan and their three children Jacob, Isabelle and Danny. They run a biodiversity-focused dairy farm along the banks of the River Bann.

With a scientific background that includes a BSc from NUI Galway and a doctorate in Chemistry, Cheryl brings an evidence-based approach to farming.

Their 103-acre farm, in the family since the early 1700s, is home to 72 high-EBI cows with a strong emphasis on milk solids and herd health. Cheryl and Alan have been ambassadors for Tirlán’s River Slaney Project, an initiative focused on enhancing water quality, and were named Tirlán Sustainability Champions in 2025.

Following the win Cheryl commented “I’m delighted to have been nominated by Tirlán and subsequently to win the COPA-COGECA Award. Our core ethos on our family farm is to protect, maintain and develop our biodiversity, and our rivers for this generation and the next. We were pleased to take part in the Tirlán Farming for Water: River Slaney Project to highlight best practices to enhance water quality on farms.”