Tipperary students honoured after rearing five angus calves for school project
The four students also brainstormed an amazing idea for a farm safety app!
Four students from Loreto Secondary School in Tipperary were honoured at the annual Certified Irish Angus Schools competition awards ceremony at Croke Park last Friday. Students Emma Carey, Sophie Dennehy, Katie Butler and Lucy Kearney attended the prestigious grand final in the Hogan Suite after successfully completing a research project and rearing five Angus calves for an 18 month period.
The Certified Irish Angus Schools’ Competition in association with ABP and Kepak is an initiative that challenges students to rear five Irish Angus Cross calves for 18 months until their slaughter which aids their Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science curriculum. It aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus brand while communicating the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.
The Clonmel students investigated the research topic “Using Technology to Raise Awareness of Health and Safety” while also promoting the benefits of Angus Beef to their peers. The students were motivated by stories from their families and the prevalence of farm accidents. They identified the key area of focus for their research; developing a farm safety app prototype called ‘Safeguarding Our Future’.
The students set about promoting their farm safety ideas via lesson plans. They tested this idea with first-year classes in their school which fed into the creation of an educational resource pack for primary school children. As part of this pack, they had both tactile and written resources to promote beef as part of a healthy diet. This pack also included fun, but effective games linked to safety awareness on farms.
The next step for the students was to conduct a survey among farmers and local Agri contractors to gauge the interest in using a farm safety app. They were overwhelmed with the overall positive response.
Over 40% said that they would use a safety app to test the safety knowledge of employees as part of the hiring process with a further 40% stating they would make it a yearly task for their staff.
One farmer noted that they would “definitely” use it with their employees to refresh their knowledge and ensure they are always thinking safety while on the farm.