Teams from Glenamaddy Community School, Galway; Ashbourne Community School, Meath; Davis College, Cork; Laurel Hill Secondary School, Limerick; and Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, Co Roscommon, were this week named as the competitors in the next Certified Irish Angus Beef Competition.

The students will receive five calves for each school by the Irish Angus Producer Group, which runs the competition along with its processor partners, ABP Ireland and Kepak Group. The five schools were chosen from 34 schools that applied to take part in the competition, which will run from September 2017 to March 2019.

Each of the five schools will target a different project while rearing their calves.

Glenamaddy Community School will highlight to farmers the importance of mental health and well-being. This will focus on ways to reduce stress, draw on support from family and the community and achieve a sense of job satisfaction.

Ashbourne Community School, Co Meath, will explore the viability of dairy/Angus beef production by assessing the benefits for both the dairy and beef farmer, analysing suitability to Irish conditions and best practice.

Davis College, Cork, will highlight the versatility of Certified Irish Angus Beef for consumers by analysing beef quality flavour and ways to make beef more appealing to families.

Laurel Hill Secondary School, Co Limerick, will raise consumer awareness about the importance of the Irish agricultural industry and the role of farmers.

Scoil Mhuire, Strokestown, Co Roscommon, will explore the importance of planning production on farms by profiling best practice in production systems and assessing farming systems in relation to land type.

The project aims to allow students to apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to a real-life setting. Each of the finalists will receive the financial benefit involved in the selling of the animals to the processors on completion of the project, while the winning students also receive an additional grant of €2,000 for their further education.

Charles Smith, general manager of the Irish Angus Producer Group, said: “Our judges, all leading figures in the Irish agrifood industry, were incredibly impressed with the calibre of the project ideas and the thought, planning and time that was invested by each of the 34 shortlisted schools this year.

“We found it almost impossible to narrow down our five finalists but we are delighted with the end result and know that each school will bring something unique to the competition.”