Hailing from a sheep and suckler farm in
Roscommon, Nicola Fetherstone admits she was always involved in the farm in one way or another and enjoyed growing up in that environment.
However, it was only when she went to college and enrolled in the Bachelor of Agricultural Science in UCD that she picked up the theory side of Ag Science.
When she was doing her Leaving Cert, Ag Science wasn’t a subject option in her secondary school.
“I was a bit uncertain about what route I wanted to take when I was going towards the Leaving Cert, so I picked very broad subjects: a science, a business and a language to make sure I was kind of covering all angles,” she explains.
Picking a broad course
The broad variety of modules and opportunities within the UCD course is why Nicola decided on a degree in agricultural science.
“I knew I had a passion for agriculture and I loved working with animals, but when I didn’t know exactly what route I wanted to take, I thought this is something where there’s a very broad range of jobs available from it,” she says.
Nicola’s group of friends from the college course are now all doing different things in the sector. “There is a whole load of routes you can go down,” she emphasises.
During her first year in college, Nicola found life on campus a big change and very different than what she was used to.
“UCD is very large with 30,000 students, so it was a big shock to the system,” she says.
“I didn’t know anybody on the course, I didn’t know anyone at all, but you just have to put yourself out there and I went to lots of events.”
Entering research
After completing her degree, Nicola was still undecided about her career direction.
Nicole Fetherstone on her home farm in Co Roscommon for a feature on careers in irish Country Living. \ Philip Doyle
“I saw Teagasc had the PhD advertised and it was something that really interested me. It was field data collection and there were two objectives; comparing Irish and New Zealand genetics and validating the Eurostar replacement index.”
She decided to apply as she had a keen interest in the research area and she liked the idea of being on-farm and working in a practical field setting.
Over the next four years, she worked as a researcher on a flock of sheep at Teagasc Athenry.
Typically, four research papers are sufficient to complete a PhD, but Nicola somehow managed to complete five during her four years, given the volume of valuable results she had garnered.
“I knew it was stuff that was really going to have a positive impact on the industry,” she says.
“I didn’t want to leave anything out, I wanted to get as much covered as I could.”
Sheep genetics
Throughout her PhD research, Nicola was looking at three main sheep groups: the New Zealand high genetic merit group, the Irish high genetic merit group, and the Irish low genetic merit group.
She compared traits within these groups across everything, from reproduction and ewe efficiency to lamb performance.
Nicole Fetherstone on her home farm in Co Roscommon for a feature on careers in irish Country Living. \ Philip Doyle
For instance, Nicola’s research simulations found that the Irish four and five-star genetics actually have the potential to surpass what the New Zealand genetics would bring if incorporated into the Irish sheep industry.
Finding the right fit
After her PhD, Nicola spent a year at Letterkenny IT (now ATU Donegal) lecturing part-time on the Level 7 and Level 8 agri degree modules. She also lectured part-time on a new agriculture course at NUIG (University of Galway).
However, she was looking for a more hands-on job dealing with farmers on the ground, so she
applied for a role as an agri advisor with AIB: “I thought it was a very good balance of office and fieldwork,” she says.
Nicola is now the AIB agri advisor for the five Connacht counties. She is also currently enrolled with the Institute of Bankers and studying to become a Qualified Financial Advisor. There are six modules to complete and she is halfway through the course.
financial challenges in farming
Nicola works with farmers on a wide range of projects and objectives.
These vary from land purchase and farm infrastructure to farm enterprise conversion and, occasionally, even farm start-ups.
Her work involves carrying out farm visits to get an understanding of the farming system customers are operating, looking at the financial performance, getting to know customers and going through their future plans.
“It’s a rewarding role, I think farmers appreciate having that point of contact and members of the team sitting down, going through all the farm information with them,” she explains.
There are a variety of challenges farmers are facing when it comes to their financial planning and control. Nicola says one key consideration for a successful loan application is repayment capacity.
“For the region that I’m working in, there are lots of dry stock farms that are heavily dependent on their direct payments each year. I can see that on a regular basis,” she says.
“I can’t emphasise enough
the importance of these farms
maximising the level of direct payments that they can receive.”
Nicola highlights that in the case of most dry stock farms, an off-farm income is a great help towards increasing the family farm income and it supports the level of borrowing being sought.
Fluctuating input and output prices have also created challenges. These include feed, fertilizer, livestock purchases and other variable costs.
“Farmers are feeling the impact of that and we are seeing some additional overdraft requirements,” she says. “Some dairy farms who completed farm development projects from cashflow in the past 12-18 months are now seeking to finance these projects via farm development loans.”
Looking ahead, Nicola says the climate change and sustainability agenda will become central to farm financial planning. “Everything will have to be done in a way that’s socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.”
Advice for students
Nicola advises students unsure about their college or career paths to find something that they have a passion for. “I was uncertain when I did the Leaving about what was the right course for me and I kind of just took the approach – as the old saying says – that if you do something you love, you won’t work a day in your life. It (farming)was something that I always had an interest in and it meant I was always motivated to stick at it,” she says.
And for Leaving Cert students unsure about what path to take, her advice is: “Don’t panic; you can always defer for a year, you can go travel for a year.”
Hailing from a sheep and suckler farm in
Roscommon, Nicola Fetherstone admits she was always involved in the farm in one way or another and enjoyed growing up in that environment.
However, it was only when she went to college and enrolled in the Bachelor of Agricultural Science in UCD that she picked up the theory side of Ag Science.
When she was doing her Leaving Cert, Ag Science wasn’t a subject option in her secondary school.
“I was a bit uncertain about what route I wanted to take when I was going towards the Leaving Cert, so I picked very broad subjects: a science, a business and a language to make sure I was kind of covering all angles,” she explains.
Picking a broad course
The broad variety of modules and opportunities within the UCD course is why Nicola decided on a degree in agricultural science.
“I knew I had a passion for agriculture and I loved working with animals, but when I didn’t know exactly what route I wanted to take, I thought this is something where there’s a very broad range of jobs available from it,” she says.
Nicola’s group of friends from the college course are now all doing different things in the sector. “There is a whole load of routes you can go down,” she emphasises.
During her first year in college, Nicola found life on campus a big change and very different than what she was used to.
“UCD is very large with 30,000 students, so it was a big shock to the system,” she says.
“I didn’t know anybody on the course, I didn’t know anyone at all, but you just have to put yourself out there and I went to lots of events.”
Entering research
After completing her degree, Nicola was still undecided about her career direction.
Nicole Fetherstone on her home farm in Co Roscommon for a feature on careers in irish Country Living. \ Philip Doyle
“I saw Teagasc had the PhD advertised and it was something that really interested me. It was field data collection and there were two objectives; comparing Irish and New Zealand genetics and validating the Eurostar replacement index.”
She decided to apply as she had a keen interest in the research area and she liked the idea of being on-farm and working in a practical field setting.
Over the next four years, she worked as a researcher on a flock of sheep at Teagasc Athenry.
Typically, four research papers are sufficient to complete a PhD, but Nicola somehow managed to complete five during her four years, given the volume of valuable results she had garnered.
“I knew it was stuff that was really going to have a positive impact on the industry,” she says.
“I didn’t want to leave anything out, I wanted to get as much covered as I could.”
Sheep genetics
Throughout her PhD research, Nicola was looking at three main sheep groups: the New Zealand high genetic merit group, the Irish high genetic merit group, and the Irish low genetic merit group.
She compared traits within these groups across everything, from reproduction and ewe efficiency to lamb performance.
Nicole Fetherstone on her home farm in Co Roscommon for a feature on careers in irish Country Living. \ Philip Doyle
For instance, Nicola’s research simulations found that the Irish four and five-star genetics actually have the potential to surpass what the New Zealand genetics would bring if incorporated into the Irish sheep industry.
Finding the right fit
After her PhD, Nicola spent a year at Letterkenny IT (now ATU Donegal) lecturing part-time on the Level 7 and Level 8 agri degree modules. She also lectured part-time on a new agriculture course at NUIG (University of Galway).
However, she was looking for a more hands-on job dealing with farmers on the ground, so she
applied for a role as an agri advisor with AIB: “I thought it was a very good balance of office and fieldwork,” she says.
Nicola is now the AIB agri advisor for the five Connacht counties. She is also currently enrolled with the Institute of Bankers and studying to become a Qualified Financial Advisor. There are six modules to complete and she is halfway through the course.
financial challenges in farming
Nicola works with farmers on a wide range of projects and objectives.
These vary from land purchase and farm infrastructure to farm enterprise conversion and, occasionally, even farm start-ups.
Her work involves carrying out farm visits to get an understanding of the farming system customers are operating, looking at the financial performance, getting to know customers and going through their future plans.
“It’s a rewarding role, I think farmers appreciate having that point of contact and members of the team sitting down, going through all the farm information with them,” she explains.
There are a variety of challenges farmers are facing when it comes to their financial planning and control. Nicola says one key consideration for a successful loan application is repayment capacity.
“For the region that I’m working in, there are lots of dry stock farms that are heavily dependent on their direct payments each year. I can see that on a regular basis,” she says.
“I can’t emphasise enough
the importance of these farms
maximising the level of direct payments that they can receive.”
Nicola highlights that in the case of most dry stock farms, an off-farm income is a great help towards increasing the family farm income and it supports the level of borrowing being sought.
Fluctuating input and output prices have also created challenges. These include feed, fertilizer, livestock purchases and other variable costs.
“Farmers are feeling the impact of that and we are seeing some additional overdraft requirements,” she says. “Some dairy farms who completed farm development projects from cashflow in the past 12-18 months are now seeking to finance these projects via farm development loans.”
Looking ahead, Nicola says the climate change and sustainability agenda will become central to farm financial planning. “Everything will have to be done in a way that’s socially, environmentally and economically sustainable.”
Advice for students
Nicola advises students unsure about their college or career paths to find something that they have a passion for. “I was uncertain when I did the Leaving about what was the right course for me and I kind of just took the approach – as the old saying says – that if you do something you love, you won’t work a day in your life. It (farming)was something that I always had an interest in and it meant I was always motivated to stick at it,” she says.
And for Leaving Cert students unsure about what path to take, her advice is: “Don’t panic; you can always defer for a year, you can go travel for a year.”
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