Irish Angus Producer Group Schools Competition
On Thursday last, four third year students took part in a competition being run in Mullingar by the Irish Angus Producer Group. It was the second round of the competition, open to students completing their Leaving Certificate in 2016. 15 groups had been shortlisted, from the 60 that had applied.
The original round involved writing a short piece, on different aspects of Angus cattle, while the second round involved the students giving a five to seven minutes presentation, on a chosen topic, about the breed. This was presented to six people from the following companies: ABP, Kepak, Bord Bia and the Angus Society. The topic selected was the marketing of Angus beef and the St. Nathy’s group highlighted the need to promote Angus abroad. This promotion would involve marketing Angus beef to holiday makers coming to Ireland and by encouraging top hotels and chefs to use the products in their restaurants. They also suggested the Angus Producer Group should include a stand at all local shows and local marts to highlight the financial potential of the breed at a local level. Other areas mentioned were quality assurance and the reduced carbon footprint from Angus cattle.
The winners of this stage will be announced in the coming weeks and the prize is an Angus calf for each student which they will rear over the course of two years and include as part of their project in Agricultural Science.
The students would like to thank everyone who helped them prepare for the competition, especially their English teacher Ms McCann, IT teacher Mr. O’Sulleabhain and Science teacher Mr Dolan.
