James Brennan, Co Laois

Glanbia

I helped out on my father’s tillage farm at a young age and I feel this is what inspired me to pursue a career in the tillage sector. I graduated with an honours degree in agricultural science from UCD in 2015 and began my career with Glanbia. My current role is site quality lead on their Portlaoise site.

Agriculture is a rapidly evolving industry and it’s a really exciting area to work in. The tillage sector adds many benefits to the economy and agri-food/drinks sector. The key to the sector going forward is to grow quality produce in a sustainable way.

Robert Beattie, Co Meath

Terrachem

Growing up on a tillage farm in Dublin, I’ve always had an interest in the tillage industry. This led me to study agricultural science in UCD and following this, I undertook a PhD on winter barley disease management with Teagasc. I now work as a business development manager for Terrachem, who are the national distributors for companies like Corteva and FMC.

I pursued a career in tillage because I feel it is a vital part of Irish agriculture. It’s a sector that is always looking to utilise the latest developments in science and engineering to make the production of food and drink more efficient.

Max Potterton, Co Meath

Boortmalt

I chose to work in the tillage industry for two main reasons. The first is as a result of my upbringing on the family tillage farm in Co Meath, where my father instilled an interest in agronomy and cereal varieties in me from a young age.

Secondly, I was fortunate to have two excellent work placement experiences during the third year of my UCD degree in food and agribusiness management. During these placements I worked within the Irish malting barley industry with Boortmalt in Athy, Co Kildare, and with the agronomy and research company Agrii in the UK.