The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the different aspects of Ireland’s agri-food sector. With a strong focus on Angus beef production, five groups are given five Angus bulls to rear across two years, which they take home from the National Ploughing Championships. Participants, however, also pick a topic relevant to Irish agriculture and get the opportunity to undertake research and propose their own solutions to the big issues in the industry.
A hands-on learning experience
Speaking to Irish Country Living at the National Ploughing Championships, Charles Smith, General Manager of Certified Irish Angus, outlined the benefits of the competition to students.
“I think one of the [competition’s] big benefits is it gives a very practical, hands-on experience,” he explained. “It’s also something the students are very much invested in because they ultimately have an end reward - the value of the calves is going to come out with them. The more they can maximise that, the lower they can keep the costs, the more that’s in it for them. So, they’re very invested in the whole process of rearing the calves,” he explained.
Villiers School, Limerick students Patrick Barry, Ben Atkinson, Simon Austin, and Seán O’Brien.
“This makes it fun to be a farmer: it makes it cooler, you’re getting interviewed by the Irish Farmers Journal and you’re getting on television and you’re on the centre stage here [at the Ploughing Championships].”
We to catch up with this year’s finalists in the competition.
Loreto Secondary School, Clonmel students Emma Carey, Katie Butler, Sophie Dennehy and Lucy Kearney.
Mercy Secondary School
Kilbeggan
Students Jack Larkin, Eoin Robinson and Shane King are all proud agricultural enthusiasts. With an interest in the Angus breed, they believe the sector is in need of young advocates to promote agriculture and to encourage modern technologies and new ways of farming.
Their theme is “Applying technology to improve Angus cattle breeding”.
The students are focusing their research on the benefits of the Irish Angus breed to sustainable beef and dairy farming. Along with this, they want to promote the ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation) evaluations and highlight the impact high genetic merit Angus sires have on increased sustainable output.
“Angus to the Fore” is the name of a monthly podcast the students started producing, which features successful personnel in the agri sector who are advocates for the Angus breed. The team also have an app which aims to help farmers in selecting suitable Angus AI sires.
Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan students Jack Larkin, Eoin Robinson and Shane King.
Scoil Chríost
Portlaoise
Carol Sheehy, Sinead Slevin and Jill Sheehy decided to enter the competition as they are interested in farming and all come from a farming background.
Their theme is “Optimising sustainable animal nutrition for better Angus beef cattle”.
Focusing on the benefits of high-quality grass in the diet of their cattle, the students hope to unlock the potential of locally sourced feeds in driving cattle performance.
This group are also hoping to go into local primary schools in Portlaoise to promote the benefits of Angus cattle and Angus beef.
St. Clare’s College, Ballyjamesduff students Ellen McCaul, Nicole Briody, Blathnaid Farrelly and Tara McCabe.
St Clare’s Ballyjamesduff
Cavan
Students Ellen McCaul, Nicole Briody, Blathnaid Farrelly and Tara McCabe entered the competition as they wanted to avail of every opportunity that was available during the year. With a great interest in farming, they say that this project will allow them to work on a topic that they love but also help with studying ag science for the leaving certificate.
Their theme is “The importance of rearing healthy livestock” and their research will focus on examining the knowledge famers have about antimicrobial resistance and educating them on the practical ways that they can reduce the amount of antimicrobial products used on their farm.
Villers School
Limerick
Patrick Barry, Ben Atkins, Simon Austin and Sean O’Brien entered the competition with the theme of environmental sustainability. After losing a local farmer to suicide, they decided that this was an area that needed more attention.
The theme of their project is “Mental health and well-being among farmers”, which is investigating farmer appreciation among young people and how it affects the mental health and wellbeing of farmers. They are also raising awareness by educating young people on the fundamentals of farming and food production and showing that without farmers, there would be no food.
Loreto Secondary School
Clonmel
Students Emma Carey, Katie Butler, Sophie Dennehy and Lucy Kearney entered the competition as they felt passionate about promoting health and safety in their school community.
Their theme is “Using technology to raise awareness of health and safety”. During the course of the competition, they are hoping to improve young people’s understanding of the dangers associated with agriculture to help create safer working environments.
They are hoping to create educational resource packs for primary schools, create an app to aid farmers and agricultural contractors in improving safety when hiring new staff and use social media to raise awareness and promote their theme.
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The Certified Irish Angus Schools Competition offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the different aspects of Ireland’s agri-food sector. With a strong focus on Angus beef production, five groups are given five Angus bulls to rear across two years, which they take home from the National Ploughing Championships. Participants, however, also pick a topic relevant to Irish agriculture and get the opportunity to undertake research and propose their own solutions to the big issues in the industry.
A hands-on learning experience
Speaking to Irish Country Living at the National Ploughing Championships, Charles Smith, General Manager of Certified Irish Angus, outlined the benefits of the competition to students.
“I think one of the [competition’s] big benefits is it gives a very practical, hands-on experience,” he explained. “It’s also something the students are very much invested in because they ultimately have an end reward - the value of the calves is going to come out with them. The more they can maximise that, the lower they can keep the costs, the more that’s in it for them. So, they’re very invested in the whole process of rearing the calves,” he explained.
Villiers School, Limerick students Patrick Barry, Ben Atkinson, Simon Austin, and Seán O’Brien.
“This makes it fun to be a farmer: it makes it cooler, you’re getting interviewed by the Irish Farmers Journal and you’re getting on television and you’re on the centre stage here [at the Ploughing Championships].”
We to catch up with this year’s finalists in the competition.
Loreto Secondary School, Clonmel students Emma Carey, Katie Butler, Sophie Dennehy and Lucy Kearney.
Mercy Secondary School
Kilbeggan
Students Jack Larkin, Eoin Robinson and Shane King are all proud agricultural enthusiasts. With an interest in the Angus breed, they believe the sector is in need of young advocates to promote agriculture and to encourage modern technologies and new ways of farming.
Their theme is “Applying technology to improve Angus cattle breeding”.
The students are focusing their research on the benefits of the Irish Angus breed to sustainable beef and dairy farming. Along with this, they want to promote the ICBF (Irish Cattle Breeding Federation) evaluations and highlight the impact high genetic merit Angus sires have on increased sustainable output.
“Angus to the Fore” is the name of a monthly podcast the students started producing, which features successful personnel in the agri sector who are advocates for the Angus breed. The team also have an app which aims to help farmers in selecting suitable Angus AI sires.
Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan students Jack Larkin, Eoin Robinson and Shane King.
Scoil Chríost
Portlaoise
Carol Sheehy, Sinead Slevin and Jill Sheehy decided to enter the competition as they are interested in farming and all come from a farming background.
Their theme is “Optimising sustainable animal nutrition for better Angus beef cattle”.
Focusing on the benefits of high-quality grass in the diet of their cattle, the students hope to unlock the potential of locally sourced feeds in driving cattle performance.
This group are also hoping to go into local primary schools in Portlaoise to promote the benefits of Angus cattle and Angus beef.
St. Clare’s College, Ballyjamesduff students Ellen McCaul, Nicole Briody, Blathnaid Farrelly and Tara McCabe.
St Clare’s Ballyjamesduff
Cavan
Students Ellen McCaul, Nicole Briody, Blathnaid Farrelly and Tara McCabe entered the competition as they wanted to avail of every opportunity that was available during the year. With a great interest in farming, they say that this project will allow them to work on a topic that they love but also help with studying ag science for the leaving certificate.
Their theme is “The importance of rearing healthy livestock” and their research will focus on examining the knowledge famers have about antimicrobial resistance and educating them on the practical ways that they can reduce the amount of antimicrobial products used on their farm.
Villers School
Limerick
Patrick Barry, Ben Atkins, Simon Austin and Sean O’Brien entered the competition with the theme of environmental sustainability. After losing a local farmer to suicide, they decided that this was an area that needed more attention.
The theme of their project is “Mental health and well-being among farmers”, which is investigating farmer appreciation among young people and how it affects the mental health and wellbeing of farmers. They are also raising awareness by educating young people on the fundamentals of farming and food production and showing that without farmers, there would be no food.
Loreto Secondary School
Clonmel
Students Emma Carey, Katie Butler, Sophie Dennehy and Lucy Kearney entered the competition as they felt passionate about promoting health and safety in their school community.
Their theme is “Using technology to raise awareness of health and safety”. During the course of the competition, they are hoping to improve young people’s understanding of the dangers associated with agriculture to help create safer working environments.
They are hoping to create educational resource packs for primary schools, create an app to aid farmers and agricultural contractors in improving safety when hiring new staff and use social media to raise awareness and promote their theme.
Read more
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