Boherbue students rise to the challenge of raising their mini-herd
A TRIO of TY students from Boherbue Comprehensive School are set to take on the task managing their own mini-herd of Irish Angus calves as part of a prestigious national agri-science competition.
The team of Amy Walsh, Rachel Breen and David Kenny are among five from across the country chosen as finalists in the 2020 Certified Irish Angus Schools competition.
Hundreds of teams from schools across the country vying to take part in the competition were tasked with putting together a detailed project on an aspect of the farming and food chain.
The Boherbue team’s project, which explored the docility of the Irish Angus Breed, impressed the panel of agri-food industry professionals who selected them to participate in this year’s competition.
To qualify for the final, the team also promoted the Irish Angus brand and breed to fellow students through events such as their ‘ Beef Masterchef ’ competition; and to the wider community by visiting national schools, farms and marts to spread their message.
They also launched a socialcampaign, #rebelangus, and halter trained a rare red Angus calf and compared it to a Hereford calf.
In September the five winning teams will take charge of five Irish Angus calves, which they will rear for 18 months before the animals are sent to slaughter.
In addition to taking care of their calves, the team will complete a research project linked to the senior-cycle Agricultural Science curriculum, which focusses on a particular aspect of farming and beef production.
As well as 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.
The general manager of the Irish Angus Producer Group, Charles Smith, this week visited Boherbue Comprehensive to present an award to the students for making it to the final of this year’s competition.
School principal Vera Leader said Mr Smith was full of praise for the Boherbue team, who will take charge of their five calves when the new school term commences in September.
“Mr Smith said Amy, Rachel and David really impressed the judging panel with their knowledge of the agriculture sector, their enthusiasm and commitment to the whole concept,” said Mrs Leader.
“We are really proud of their achievement and are really look forward to seeing how they progress through the next stages of the competition,” she added.
The three members of the Boherbue team all come from agricultural backgrounds, something that inspired them to enter the competition in the first place
“We all have a love for farming and animals, and because we all come from a farming background, we all knew what we were talking about,” said David. Amy said the trio have put a huge amount of work into the competition and thoroughly enjoyed promoting Angus to farms and consumers.
“I also gained a lot of confidence as we had to go up and speak to mart managers, interviewees and the general public. It means the world to get where we are today. We are really excited and can’t wait to get back promoting Angus,” she said.
Rachel said they learned a huge amount through visiting marts and local farms, giving them a greater understanding of the “vitally important” role farming plays in local communities.