Louth students reach finals of prestigious Irish Angus Beef Competition
St. Vincent’s TY trio explore the impact of seaweed on Angus cattle
Three TY students from St. Vincent's in Dundalk, Dearbhla McArdle, Sarah Jayne Holmes and Milena Zambricka competed in the final of The Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools competition which took place in Croke Park earlier this month.
Certified Irish Angus, ABP and Kepak run the competition which aims to encourage second-level students to gain an understanding about the acre and attention that is required to produce and market the highest quality Irish Angus beef for consumers. The initiative challenges groups of students to rear 5 calves for 18 months and carry out research on a chosen topic.
A record number of over 188 school groups entered this year's competition and the St. Vincent's team were one of the shortlisted 46 teams in the final.
"For the competition, our team analysed the effects of eating Dillisk Seaweed on Angus beef cattle" Dearbhla explained. "We looked into the chemical structure of seaweed and how it would alter the methane production in cattle. We created a poster displaying all of our information. We also had to look into the quality of our meal and research attitudes towards beef in our school."
The trio under the guidance of their teacher Sarah Hunt thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the competition. "We feel that we have learned so much more information as a result of taking part in the competition and the agricultural industry overall."