‘We're going to need a steady supply of educated young people’

Having an interest in agriculture since he was young, Barry Stratford knew he wanted to be a farmer when he was older.

“I live on the Cavan/Meath border near Virginia, Co Cavan. My grandfather bought the farm in the 1960s, so now I’m the third generation to farm. It was used for beef production until 2009 when we made the switch to dairying. We’re currently milking about 210 crossbred cows,” he explains.

Barry decided to study agricultural science at third level to gain a better understanding of the sector and to bring that knowledge back to the home farm.

“Coming from a dairy background, studying agricultural science at University College Cork was the obvious choice for me, due to the unique collaboration between UCC and Teagasc. I felt that this was the best course to get truly immersed in the research coming out of Teagasc Moorepark [Fermoy, Co Cork],” he says.

Future workforce

Having the opportunity to spend a lot of time in Moorepark during his second, third and fourth year was a huge benefit to Barry.

“We were lectured by the top grassland researchers in the country which gave us access to the most up-to-date data. We also got exposed to interesting guest speakers and saw great farms,” he adds.

Unfortunately, Barry spent his first year studying online due to COVID-19, so he didn’t get to Cork until his second year.

“It was a real shame as we missed out on the social side of college that year and never got the chance to meet our classmates. I remember thinking in the second year that my three hour 45 minute commute to Cork every week was a long way, however, by the time fourth year came around, I had the roads well learned off and it wasn’t too much of a deal,” says Barry.

As part of his course, Barry got the opportunity to work on a 1,600-cow farm in New Zealand for the calving season “which was a huge eye-opener”.

“We also visited several farmers in the North and South island and got to question them on their business and see their attitude to growth, debt, employment, costs etc. Work placement was well structured and planned which meant that I gained a huge amount from it,” he says.

Barry also spent 17 weeks during his third year working on Denis Finnegan’s farm in Cork.

“Getting the opportunity to work on Denis’ farm was brilliant. I got a huge insight into the importance of grassland management, genetics, and cost control amongst other things on the farm.

"It was great to shadow Denis who handles farming multiple units which was an area that I wanted to see first-hand. Our class met up seven times during placement on each other’s placement farm for discussion group-type meetings which were really beneficial,” says Barry.

For any students looking at studying agriculture science in UCC, Barry has the following advice.

“Have a good look into the course content of the ag science courses as they are all quite different. Pick the course that’s best suited to your interests and goals and definitely don’t be afraid to travel far to do your dream course,” he stresses.

After graduating from college, Barry spent last summer on a 10,000-cow dairy farm in Australia.

“I experienced something so different to Irish dairying, I’m now back home again working on the family dairy farm. Throughout the course, I was exposed to so many top farmers who have built impressive businesses over the last number of years. The enthusiasm and optimism that these farmers possess is contagious and without a doubt, it has had an effect on me,” he says.

In the not-so-distant future, Barry hopes to take on a second milking platform to put his stamp on things.

“I believe the future is bright for young people in farming. There appears to be so much opportunity in the agricultural sector and with the average age of an Irish farmer being quite high we’re going to need a steady supply of educated young people to get involved in the sector,” he says.

At an award ceremony hosted by UCC in December, Barry took home five awards which included; Irish Farmers Journal award, Teagasc Paddy O’Keeffe award, MSD Bovilis #ProtectTheFuture award, Cork Grassland Services grassland student of the year and the overall FBD Trust Student of the Year award.