Down High School Downpatrick, Friends’ School Lisburn; St. Killian’s College Carnlough and St. Louis Grammar Ballymena are our new finalists. The teams representing each school have received a mini-herd of Angus cross calves courtesy of the beef processor ABP and the Certified Irish Angus Producer Group. They will now have to rear their calves through to beef; pocketing the proceeds of their sale to ABP. Alongside the practical experience gained in beef farming, they will also work on special projects relating to sustainability that will be designed to complement their GCSE studies.
Congratulating the teams on becoming finalists, George Mullan, Managing Director of ABP in Northern Ireland said, “The ABP Angus Youth Challenge finalist programme encourages young people who are interested in farming and food to explore forward-thinking ways to develop a sustainable agricultural system. They’ll be researching customer and consumer requirements and how to tackle challenges facing our industry from an environmental, economic and social perspective.”
Supporting them on their projects will be four College of Agriculture Food Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) advisors who will mentor each team during their finalist journey.
All 13 pupils are in Yr. 11 and will also benefit from professional instruction to prepare them for the world of work such as communication and interview skills. They will gain insights and an induction to one of the Europe’s leading meat processors travelling with ABP and Certified Irish Angus on an international study tour.
To make it onto the finalist programme the pupils had to competed against 20 other school teams at in farm-to-fork exhibition at Halloween. Congratulating the pupils, Charles Smith, General Manager of Certified Irish Angus added, “these young people are the future lifeblood of our industry. The ABP Angus Youth Challenge is connecting with them at a crucial stage of their education and giving them a bridge between school and working in our sector.”
You can follow their journey on Instagram and Facebook #ABPAngusYouth
