Ballyduff girls win five calves
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Some of the team at the exhibition in the RDS for the Certified Irish Angus School’s competition.Image 2 of 3
LEFT: Students Blathnaid Farrelly, Tara McCabe, Ellen McCabe, Nicole Briody, along with their teacher Ms Lauren McCabe (centre).Image 3 of 3
The certificate and award won by the students.Four students from St Clare’s College in Ballyjamesduff were selected as one of five groups going forward as finalists in the Certified Irish Angus Schools’ Competition 2025 and in doing so have won five calves to rear.
Blathnaid Farrelly, Tara McCabe, Ellen McCabe, Nicole Briody, along with their teacher Ms Lauren McCabe, have worked diligently since September to get this far in the competition with their topic Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
"The girls have worked extremely hard to get to this stage of the competition. They never thought they would get this far, never mind winning five calves and going forward as finalists. They entered the competition for fun at the beginning, but got so invested in researching the topic," Ms McCabe told The Anglo-Celt.
The team linked in with a well known, educational vet Tommy Heffernan, also known as ‘Tommy The Vet’, who shared his vast knowledge of AMR with them.
The Certified Irish Angus Schools’ competition, run in association with ABP and Kepak, challenges students to rear five Irish Angus calves for beef production over 18 months, while completing a research topic. The five groups will receive their calves to rear at this year’s National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, Co Laois, in September.
Along with promoting the brand, the competition also aims to communicate the care required to produce quality beef for consumers.
In September 2022, almost 180 teams from rural and urban schools in 23 counties applied to take part the competition. This was then whittled down to 42 teams that reached the semi-finals of the 2023 competition and displayed their ideas at the exhibition in Croke Park on Friday, March 31.
Each of the finalists shares in the sale of the animals to the processors on completion of the project, which amounts to an average €7,500.
During the competition they will also be exposed to the full process of beef production from Farm to Fork including visits beef processing facilities, presenting their ideas to industry experts and going on a foreign study trip.
For more information, please visit www.certifiedirishangus.ie