The Irish Angus Exhibition Centre was buzzing with excitement on Wednesday evening at the National Ploughing Championships as RTÉ’s Miriam O’Callaghan presented the five finalists of the 2016 Certified Irish Angus Beef School Competition with their five Irish Angus cross calves.

This competition, now in its third year, is constantly gaining in popularity. Based on the age-old tradition of farmers’ sons and daughters receiving an animal for the work done on the farm over the summer, these students are able to use the experience they gain while rearing these calves over an 18-month period to assist them in the completion of their ag science project for their Leaving Cert.

Over the next 18 months, the students will be exposed to all aspects of beef production, processing and deliverance to the end consumer with a focus on quality at every stage.

The aim of the competition is to help educate farmers as to the advantages of breeding and producing Irish Angus cattle for the Certified Irish Angus Beef scheme. Each group of students receives five six-month-old Irish Angus calves. They rear these calves through to slaughter at 20 months of age, benefiting fully from the financial gains obtained by rearing the calves efficiently.

Each group of students has been given a different theme of study while they rear their calves and submit at the end a report on that theme. This year’s finalists and their themes are as follows:

Athlone Community College, Athlone, Co Westmeath, will study the theme of animal welfare and farm standards. They will focus their research their research on the following:

  • Evaluating the most efficient systems for housing certified Irish Angus cattle.
  • The importance of ensuring good health management planning.
  • The importance of good farmyard organisation to avoid accident, illness and disease.
  • Creating awareness around good biosecurity and its benefits.

    • Coláiste Treasa, Kanturk, Co Cork, will study the theme of the importance of planning beef production to maximise bonus. They will focus their research on the following:

  • Improving farmer awareness of Certified Irish Angus Beef guaranteed premiums.
  • The financial benefits from focusing production on producing what the market wants at the time of year that production is needed by working in partnership with ABP Food Group and Kepak Group.

    • CBS The Green, Tralee, Co Kerry, will study the theme of nutritional benefits of Certified Irish Angus Beef in the sportperson’s diet. They will focus their research on the following:

  • Creating awareness among young sportspeople as to the benefits of including Certified Irish Angus Beef in their diet, in particular the research done by Professor Robert Prickard.
  • Communicating how Certified Irish Angus Beef naturally produces the correct portion size steak.

    • Rice College, Westport, Co Mayo, will study the theme of Certified Irish Angus beef production and its suitability to the west of Ireland. They will focus their research on the following:

  • History of the Irish Angus breed in the west of Ireland and how it adapts excellently to the land type and farming system.
  • The uniqueness of this west of Ireland farming system and how its history and traditions adds to the eating quality of Certified Irish Angus Beef.

    • St Brogan’s College, Bandon, Co Cork, will study the theme of producing Certified Irish Angus Beef from a modern dairy herd. They will focus their research on the following:

  • The suitability of the Irish Angus breed to the dairy farm of the future to include the matching of the bull type to the cow type.
  • How the production of Irish Angus cattle on a dairy farm can contribute to its profitability and assist in the cash flow management of the farm.

    • The competition has grabbed the imagination of schools all over the country, with fierce competition for these five finalist places. In 2016, there were 96 entries from which these five were selected.

    Also available on the stand were applications for the 2017 competition, which is open until 1 November 2016. To apply, groups of transition year students need to create a three-minute video introducing themselves and their school, the role of ag science within the school and a plan of what they would like to do with the five calves if they were to win. A series of interviews and events will take place to select the five finalist groups, one of which will be an exhibition of their plans in the Hogan Stand in Croke Park on 15 March 2017.

    For further details, check out the website www. angusproducergroup.com.