Three winning projects have received recognition for agricultural innovation at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
Teagasc, ABP and the Department of Agriculture each sponsored an award under the ‘special award’ category. The exhibition took place at the RDS arena in Dublin from 9-11 January.
Teagasc special award: ‘Herbal Leys – Milk Production for the Future’
Declan Troy, Teagasc presenting the Teagasc award to Darren Kiely, Bevin Murphy and Omar Daly, Millstreet Community School, Cork.
Bevin Murphy, Darren Kiely and Omar Daly from Millstreet Community School in Cork received the Teagasc special award for their project entitled ‘Herbal Leys – Milk Production for the Future’.
The project was an investigation into whether agriculture can be both profitable and sustainable for the future. A herbal ley is a complex seed mixture of grasses, legumes and herbs, which bring a range of benefits to forage, livestock health and soil fertility.
The students sought to compare if the leys could match, or even outdo, the productivity of intensive farming. They also wanted to check their influence on milk production.
“We believe that herbal leys are the future of farming in Ireland. This subject is close to our hearts, as two of our group members are from farming backgrounds and would like to make a career in farming,” said Bevin.
They were presented with the award by Teagasc's director of food technology transfer Declan Troy.
ABP Farm Safety award: ‘The Slurry Pit Saver’
Maria Kilmartin from ABP Food Group, presenting the safety award to Abbey Hehir and Rebecca Murphy from St John Bosco Community College, Co.Clare.
Abbey Hehir, Rebecca Murphy and Ryely Cantrell from St John Bosco Community College, Co Clare, took home the accolade for ABP’s safety award.
Their solar-powered infrared ‘laser-gate’ safety system is designed to prevent accidental deaths in slurry pits.
If a large object, such as a human or farm animal, breaches both lasers that are positioned around the pit, an alarm will be sent to the phone of anyone that has been connected to the device via a smartphone app that the girls designed themselves.
It can be connected to as many phones as you want. There is also a button attached to the solar device that can be activated manually in a case of emergency.
The problem of birds or other objects activating the device is also solved by both lasers needing to be breached instead of just one.
ABP managing director Martin Kane said: “Their project epitomises the spirit of this award, which aims to improve safety on farms and educate people about the dangers of farming accidents.”
Department of Agriculture special award: Amaranth in Ireland – A sustainable path for food security, rural regeneration and climate mitigation
Alan Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry & Horticulture presented Isobel Hynes with her award.
Isobel Hynes from Colaiste Treasa, Co Cork, won the Department of Agriculture’s (DAFM) special award for her project that examines the potential for introducing Amaranth, a novel crop for farmers, with the intention of impacting rural regeneration, health, wellbeing and climate action.
This is the second time that the teenager has had a project accepted into the awards. In 2018, she entered a project that examined internet addiction among school-aged children.
Isobel was presented the award for a science project that has the strongest potential to aid food safety and/or animal and plant health. Her award was presented by the Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture Andrew Doyle.
Watch: The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition
Read more
Farm safety and agricultural innovation at the RDS
Watch: Young scientists take on agriculture
Three winning projects have received recognition for agricultural innovation at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
Teagasc, ABP and the Department of Agriculture each sponsored an award under the ‘special award’ category. The exhibition took place at the RDS arena in Dublin from 9-11 January.
Teagasc special award: ‘Herbal Leys – Milk Production for the Future’
Declan Troy, Teagasc presenting the Teagasc award to Darren Kiely, Bevin Murphy and Omar Daly, Millstreet Community School, Cork.
Bevin Murphy, Darren Kiely and Omar Daly from Millstreet Community School in Cork received the Teagasc special award for their project entitled ‘Herbal Leys – Milk Production for the Future’.
The project was an investigation into whether agriculture can be both profitable and sustainable for the future. A herbal ley is a complex seed mixture of grasses, legumes and herbs, which bring a range of benefits to forage, livestock health and soil fertility.
The students sought to compare if the leys could match, or even outdo, the productivity of intensive farming. They also wanted to check their influence on milk production.
“We believe that herbal leys are the future of farming in Ireland. This subject is close to our hearts, as two of our group members are from farming backgrounds and would like to make a career in farming,” said Bevin.
They were presented with the award by Teagasc's director of food technology transfer Declan Troy.
ABP Farm Safety award: ‘The Slurry Pit Saver’
Maria Kilmartin from ABP Food Group, presenting the safety award to Abbey Hehir and Rebecca Murphy from St John Bosco Community College, Co.Clare.
Abbey Hehir, Rebecca Murphy and Ryely Cantrell from St John Bosco Community College, Co Clare, took home the accolade for ABP’s safety award.
Their solar-powered infrared ‘laser-gate’ safety system is designed to prevent accidental deaths in slurry pits.
If a large object, such as a human or farm animal, breaches both lasers that are positioned around the pit, an alarm will be sent to the phone of anyone that has been connected to the device via a smartphone app that the girls designed themselves.
It can be connected to as many phones as you want. There is also a button attached to the solar device that can be activated manually in a case of emergency.
The problem of birds or other objects activating the device is also solved by both lasers needing to be breached instead of just one.
ABP managing director Martin Kane said: “Their project epitomises the spirit of this award, which aims to improve safety on farms and educate people about the dangers of farming accidents.”
Department of Agriculture special award: Amaranth in Ireland – A sustainable path for food security, rural regeneration and climate mitigation
Alan Doyle, Minister of State for Food, Forestry & Horticulture presented Isobel Hynes with her award.
Isobel Hynes from Colaiste Treasa, Co Cork, won the Department of Agriculture’s (DAFM) special award for her project that examines the potential for introducing Amaranth, a novel crop for farmers, with the intention of impacting rural regeneration, health, wellbeing and climate action.
This is the second time that the teenager has had a project accepted into the awards. In 2018, she entered a project that examined internet addiction among school-aged children.
Isobel was presented the award for a science project that has the strongest potential to aid food safety and/or animal and plant health. Her award was presented by the Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture Andrew Doyle.
Watch: The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition
Read more
Farm safety and agricultural innovation at the RDS
Watch: Young scientists take on agriculture
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