In Pictures: Limerick students have their ears to the ground on farm walk

SALESIAN Agricultural College had its own St Patrick’s Day parade of sorts when 300 students marched through the state-of-the art farm.

The rich, fertile grounds of the Pallaskenry college was the latest port of call on the Agri Aware Farm Walk and Talk series on March 16. Leaving Certificate agricultural science students from across Limerick, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Galway were in attendance.

The 300 senior-cycle students made their way around the talks and exhibits that cover the new Leaving Certificate agricultural science cross-cutting themes - sustainability, environment, policies and economics, technology, breeding and genetics, food production, health and safety, and nutrition.

The talks were given by the college’s lecturers and some local agribusinesses, including Grassland Agro and Dairymaster.

Derek O’Donoghue, principal of Salesian Agricultural College, said: “It was great to welcome 300 students who got the opportunity to see the day to day workings of a commercial farm and our food production systems. College staff, together with industry partners were on hand to provide an informative and interactive experience for visiting students”.

Marcus O’Halloran, Agri Aware executive director said agriculture is hands-on and events like the Agri Aware Farm Walk and Talk provide students with an insight into the practicalities of farming and the hard work that farmers do each day.

“It’s great just to see so many students back, in-person enjoying the event. Thank you so much to the Salesian Agricultural College for hosting what was a brilliant day.

“We hope those who take part will leave with a greater understanding of what a future in agriculture could be and how these students might help to shape it,” said Mr O’Halloran.

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In 2022, Farm Walk and Talk returned to in person events after the Covid-19 pandemic, with record numbers attending - students and teachers alike eager to engage with the subject in a hands-on manner.

As a result, in 2023, Agri Aware has extended the series of events to meet the high demand with 13 events taking place in 10 locations across Ireland.

The Farm Walk and Talk series allows students to connect with the subject in a new way and keeps their passion for the subject alive amid concerns voiced by many in the agriculture sector on the difficulty of the new agricultural science curriculum, and the effect it is having on the uptake of the subject in schools.

In 2022, only 5.8% of students achieved a H1 grade, compared to the second highest at 7.2% for English, making agricultural science the most difficult subject to achieve a top-grade in. IASTA teachers have noticed the reduced subject uptake within schools, with the number of pupils sitting the leaving certificate exam dropping by 12% between 2021-2022.

If this downward trend continues, Agri Aware warns this may impact the number of pupils applying for agricultural science higher education courses and those entering related careers.