Degree: “I am a second-year agricultural science student at Institute of Technology Tralee. After my Leaving Cert I decided to study pharmaceutical biotechnology at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) but after working part-time on a dairy farm I knew agricultural science was for me.”
Degree: “I am a second-year agricultural science student at Institute of Technology Tralee. After my Leaving Cert I decided to study pharmaceutical biotechnology at Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) but after working part-time on a dairy farm I knew agricultural science was for me.”
Corkman David Cronin is a second-year agricultural science student at Institute of Technology Tralee.
Passion for agriculture: “Ever since I was a child, I had a huge interest in animals. We always had a few ducks, hens, and sheep at home. I fell completely in love with agriculture and dairy farming when I left CIT and I haven’t looked back since; farming has always been for me.”
IT Tralee: “The agricultural science degree is very broad; each topic is taught really well, with small classes of roughly 25 students in each year. Animal physiology has been one of my favourite modules so far. It’s a tough but interesting one as it teaches us how each of the biological systems work within the animal.”
Our farm: “We have a small holding of three acres which we primarily use to sustain the needs of our home. We keep seven Suffolk ewes and sell most of the lambs to the local butcher. We keep a couple of lambs for ourselves and grow our own vegetables too.”
Experience: “I work on a 620-cow dairy farm near Crookstown, Co Cork. I picked up my great interest for intense grass utilisation while working on this grass-based system. The cows are Jersey-crosses and in summer milking is completed under two hours in the newly installed 64-point rotary parlour.”
Future goals: “After completing agricultural science at IT Tralee, I hope to travel to other agricultural countries like New Zealand, the US and Saudi Arabia to see more of the world. In the long-term I hope to work in advisory or research.”
Quotable quote: “I don’t think the bad name farmers have been given in the past while is deserved. It just shows the power a few bad apples have in turning the general opinion of the public. The reality is the majority of farmers treat their animals better than they do themselves.”
Are you part of the next generation of Ireland's agriculture sector? Get in touch and tell us your story by emailing news@farmersjournal.ie
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