Calves in the Classroom – Finalists announced: Students to rear Irish Angus calves for Leaving Certificate 2017
22 September 2015: The Irish Angus Producer Group and its processor partners, ABP Ireland and Kepak Group, are delighted to announce the five finalist schools of the 2015 Certified Irish Angus Beef School Competition. The competition in its second year has become phenomenally popular with double the amount of schools applying in 2015 over 2014.
The competition is designed to encourage young people to study Agricultural Science for their Leaving Cert and give a strong basic understanding of farming for future life. It also offers a unique opportunity to students from outside the normal agricultural environment to gain an understanding and insight into what is involved in the production of their food.
Each finalist school will be presented with 5 Irish Angus Cross calves by Miriam O’Callaghan at a presentation held on the Irish Angus stand this evening 23 September at 5.00pm at the National Ploughing Championships joined by their school principal, teacher, their parents and families.
The calves will be taken home to the students’ family farms or to prearranged farms where they will be reared by the students for the next 18 months up to slaughter. Students will look after the animals and use the experience they gain in doing so to help in the completion of their Ag Science project and assist them in putting into practice the theory they will learn in the classroom.
The excitement of these young people is overwhelming and in particular with one group of 4 young ladies from Our Lady’s School, Terenure, Dublin 6W who have no former practical experience of livestock. These young ladies cannot wait to get the calves back to their school for a naming ceremony where they will introduce them to the entire school.
In total, there are 18 students involved from the following schools:
- 2 girls from Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy, Co. Kilkenny
- 4 girls from Our Lady’s School, Terenure, Dublin 6W
- 3 boys from Ballymahon Vocational School, Ballymahon, Co. Longford
- 4 girls, 1 boy from Colaiste Mhuire, Buttevant, Co. Cork
- 4 Boys from Salesian Secondary College, Copsewood, Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick
A final presentation of the successful students’ projects will be made to a panel of Agricultural, Beef and Food Industry experts where an overall winner will be selected. The students will make reports at set milestones through the lifetime of the animals and will visit farms, processing and retail facilities to gain an understanding of how each relies on the other. Students will benefit fully from the financial gain derived from the production of the cattle. One school will be chosen as the overall winner and receive an additional €2,000 payment towards their further education. The competition has a total prize fund of €15,000 per annum.
For more information please contact:
Irish Angus Producer Group, Longfield, Virginia, Co. Cavan
Tel: 046-9242541/2820; Email: info@angusproducergroup.com