Carlow farmer Evan McDonnell took home the top prize for his malting barley crop at the Irish Malting Barley Excellence Awards.

The annual prize has been presented to barley growers since 1954.

The award is organised by Boortmalt, one of the world’s largest producers of malted barley and hosted by Diageo Ireland – the largest purchaser of malting barley in Ireland.

McDonnell said it was a great honour to win the title, saying: “My winning formula for success is that early sowing is important and after that a lot is dependent on the weather.”