The demand for degree courses in farming-related disciplines has seen the point levels rise by 100 points for some courses in recent years.

This month is decision time for most young students. The good news is that there are numerous options available to them. And, if you want to study agricultural engineering in Ireland, then Institute of Technology Tralee is the destination.

The Department of Agriculture’s Food Harvest 2020 report has no mention of the agricultural machinery industry. However, this sector is critical to achieving the targets in production, and the sustainability of the land farmed for future generations.

If the tractors, machines and operating techniques had not evolved in conjunction with animal breeding, husbandry techniques and crop protection, the fruits of farmers’ labour might never be harvested.

Just before Christmas, I visited Institute of Technology Tralee, to meet the staff, and the students who will be the future of the agricultural machinery industry in Ireland.

According to head of department Brendan O’Donnell, the industry is crying out for enthusiastic engineers and service technicians. The development and complexity of electronics in machines today does not allow for amateur repairs or diagnostics.

Staff at Institute of Technology Tralee are attuned to the demands of the industry and have developed and evolved an education programme to suit.

Fergal O’Sullivan, a lecturer at IT Tralee, said: “The graduates of this course have an excellent reputation within the industry and have the opportunity to work in the agricultural machinery area in Ireland and internationally. The course is accredited by the Institution of Agricultural Engineers in the UK and by Engineers Ireland.”

Modern

The agricultural engineering students in Tralee work and study in modern, well-equipped engineering workshops, a comprehensive machinery hall, science laboratories, computer and electronics laboratories, a mechanical engineering laboratory, a machine and welding shop and a power units garage.

The course structure has changed to a three-year Level 7 degree, with option to continue to Level 8 in year four. The entry requirement is anticipated to be in the region of 280 points.

There is a lot of potential for employment for agricultural engineers in Ireland. Established companies such as McHale, Keenan, Malone, Hi-Spec and Abbey have worldwide sales and an excellent reputation for quality. This is good for business and the future of the industry.

Students’ impressions

John Malone, Westport, Co Mayo

John is in his final year at IT Tralee. The highlight for him on the course is the 3D design and modelling of machines. He believes this and robotics are the future for machine design.

John said the work experience was another extremely beneficial element of the course. He worked with PMC harvesting in the UK, where he worked on the new design of a bean harvester.

John has an interesting idea of developing a bunker storage system for self-propelled forage harvesters to cut down on the trailer requirements and get more out of these machines.

He also has a brother studying in Dublin, and one big difference that he notices is that the cost of living is lower in Tralee, with accommodation a lot cheaper. They estimate the costs are around one third of the prices paid in Dublin.

Brenda O’Sullivan, Abbeydorney, Co Kerry.

Brenda, right, is also in her final year at IT Tralee, and her highlights from the course are the business and marketing components. She has already been on interviews for potential jobs. Brenda has a passion for machinery and vintage machinery in particular, with old Fords being her favourite. New tractors have a lot more electrics and computer aids, and Brenda has gained a lot from the electronics modules on the course, and was also involved in the building of a carrot washer for farmers in Swaziland.

Kevin Kelleher working on farm safety

As part of his third year project, Kevin (inset) is developing a radio frequency identification zone around a machine. The aim of this project is that when a person enters the proximity zone of the loader or tractor a buzzer will go off inside the cab alerting the operator that there is a person in the area of the machine. Kevin was motivated to develop this technology to improve safety on farms and machinery.

The SIMA Show 2015

This year’s SIMA-SIMAGENA 2015 will take place on 22-26 February at the Parc des Expositions, Paris-Nord. This site is very accessible from Paris – around 40 minutes on the train, which stops outside the show grounds. There are a number of interesting papers and workshops varying from precision farming to the dangers of working long tractor hours for operators to mention but two. Details are available at www.simaonline.com, the show itself will display quite a number of new innovative machines awarded gold and silver medals, with a special mention category for some of the machines displayed.