MALLOW TEAM MAKE IT TO THE FINAL OF PRESTIGIOUS AGRI COMPETITION
A QUARTET of brainy boffins from Mallow’s Davis College have been chosen to participate in a national competition aimed at ‘ beefing up’ the image of Ireland’s agri-industry.
The team of Pierce Buckley, Noah Butler, Roisin Scully and Emily O’Callaghan were among 34 to be short-listed from schools across the country to take part in the 2017 Certified Irish Angus Beef competition.
Next September they, along with the four other winning teams, will receive five Angus Cross calves, which they will be required to rear for 18-months before the animals are slaughtered in 2019.
In addition to rearing the calves, each of the schools will complete a detailed project focussing on a different aspect of farming and the food chain.
The Davis College team will be tasked with analysing the factors that affect the quality of beef, explore its flavour profile and develop a creative approach to highlighting its versatility and making beef more appealing to children and families.
The project is aimed at giving participating students the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to real-life settings and encouraging second-level students to gain a greater understanding of the care and attention needed to produce and market top quality beef.
In addition to keeping the money they make from selling the calves to processors at the end of the project, each of the teams will also receive a grant of €2,000 toward the cost of their further education.
Charles Smith of the Irish Angus Producer Group, which runs the initiative along with ABP Ireland and the Kepak Group, said judges were impressed with the detailed submission made by the Davis College team.
“In fact, the judging panel were incredibly impressed with the calibre of project ideas and the thought, planning and time that each of the 34 short-listed schools put in. The panel, which is comprised of leading figures within the Irish agrifood industry found it almost impossible to narrow it down to just five,” said Mr Smith.
“We are delighted with the final result and know that the Mallow team and the other four finalists will bring something unique to the competition,” he added.