The Kildalton College open day will take place on Friday 4 October. There will be an opportunity for prospective students to learn more about the course content and see the facilities at the college. Out of the 127 students enrolled for the Green Cert in Teagasc’s Kildalton College this year, some 13 of those are female. This is a 50% increase on last year and a record high for the course. A spokesperson for Teagasc said that while female participation in equine and horticulture courses are usually high, the interest in agriculture is a welcome change.

“As well as hailing from the bordering counties of Kilkenny, Wexford, Tipperary and Waterford, Kildalton sees this year’s female students coming from Clare, Offaly, Laois and Wicklow,” Tim Ashmore, college principal at Kildalton said. “The majority of these female students come from a farm, but that is never a barrier to a career in agriculture.”

These first-year students will join students from other agriculture, equine and horticulture courses as well as over 400 WIT agriculture, agricultural science, horticulture, forestry and food science students who come on a weekly basis as part of their degree programmes. In total, over 1,200 students will study land-based courses in Kildalton this year.