17 August 2023
Teagasc students compete in Agro Challenge in Slovakia
Students Ellen Doherty and Conor Farrell, both attending Kildalton Agricultural College, and Wayne Smith and Rosie O’Brien, students in Gurteen College, are flying the Teagasc flag at the sixth Agro Challenge taking place in Nitra, Slovakia from August 15th to 18th.
The first time a Teagasc team has competed in this event, Agro Challenge is a competition for full-time students of the green sector aged up to an including 25, who are current students of a school/institution that is a member of the national EUROPEA organisation.
The Irish team of four is one of just 18 attending the competition and will vie against students from countries such as Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, France and Germany to name just a few for top spot. The Irish team are being accompanied by teachers Eva Hayes, Kildalton Agricultural College, and Danielle Mulligan, Gurteen College. This Irish team’s participation is kindly sponsored by FBD.
The competition assesses the team’s capabilities on a number of fronts, with 18 tasks being completed over the duration of the competition; each task must be completed within the maximum time of 15 minutes. Competency in machinery skills will be judged through tasks in stacking round and square bales, changing blades on a mounted disc mower, changing wheels, tractor driving with both a trailer and water tank, and log splitting.
The team’s attention to detail in terms of animal husbandry will be assessed and this will be tested through animal assessments to determine live weight, the preparation of an animal ration, hand milking and a milk quality assessments. Furthermore, the students will also be required to carry out tasks in crop agronomy, focusing on identifying different crop plants and their seeds, and the identification of diseases, insect pests and weeds.
The best team in each task will be awarded a prize and the overall winner will be announced at a gala dinner on August 17th.
Commenting on the participation of students from Teagasc agriculture colleges, Dr Anne-Marie Butler, Teagasc Head of Education, praised the team for their wonderful performance in Slovakia.
“International events like this are a powerful learning initiative for students and offers new and exciting experiences for all. Well done to Rosie, Ellen, Conor and Wayne who represented Ireland so proudly.”
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