Four students from Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew have been announced as winners of the 2023 Certified Irish Angus Schools’ Competition at an awards ceremony in Croke Park.
The students – Peter O’Neill, Amy Higgins, Oisín Colleran and Cormac Delaney – attended the prestigious grand final in Dublin after successfully completing their project and rearing five Angus calves for 18 months.
The competition, in association with ABP and Kepak, challenges students to rear five Irish Angus Cross calves for 18 months until their slaughter which aids their Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science curriculum.
It aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus Beef brand while communicating the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.
The winning group from Galway investigated ‘Improving Quality of Beef for Consumers’ and conducted a local survey of what consumers looked for when buying beef.
The results showed that consumers are prioritising the quality and origins of the beef they purchase. They gained a deep understanding of the farming effort that results in producing the best food through complex Teagasc documentation, face to face meetings with farmers and farming experts.
With this newfound knowledge the students helped their community understand topics from animal husbandry to grassland management in a manner that engaged consumers.
Announcing the winners, General Manager of Certified Irish Angus, Charles Smith said that Holy Rosary College is very deserving winners of this year’s competition.
“Driven by their deep-rooted interest of agriculture and food production, the students successfully communicated the benefits of good farming practices with their classmates and local community,” he said.
“They helped their community to understand the huge farming effort that results in producing the best quality food.
“The growth of the competition entries has been exceptional, we have increased our exhibiting numbers because of standard met by the enthusiastic TY students.”
