The Loughry Estate dates back to 1611 when the land around Loughry was granted to Robert Lindesay by King James 1.

The estate remained with the Lindesay family until 1908 when the then Ministry of Agriculture and Technical Instruction purchased the property and established The Ulster Dairy School for girls to study dairying and poultry-keeping courses.

The “School” went on to become a “College” and more recently a “Campus” within DARD’s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).

Since its inception, Loughry has evolved in response to the different challenges of each era and, in recent years, has concentrated primarily on developing people for the food processing industry and the food supply chain.

The agri-food industry has undergone major change within the last 100 years and this has been reflected at Loughry. Its contribution to the Northern Ireland economy and to the agriculture and food industries has been significant. It has acted and continues to act as an agent of change - encouraging innovation, promoting the adoption of appropriate technology and management, providing technological advice and delivering a comprehensive range of education and training programmes to meet the needs of individuals, their businesses and the industry as a whole.