22 December 2008

Ronnie Hutchinson, Lecturer, Greenmount Campus, Antrim

In November, first year agriculture students at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus get involved in training livestock in preparation for the College’s Young Handlers Competition an event eagerly anticipated by the students. It allows students the opportunity to develop skills in the preparation and showing of farm animals, skills that might be useful when they return to their own farms.

Each student in the competition had to prepare and show a dairy heifer. During the weeks of preparation the students developed a great team spirit. he culmination of the event is the showing of the livestock in front of an audience of fellow students, staff, parents and friends. Competition is intense with each student using all the tricks of livestock showing and handling to outdo their rivals.

Training the animal requires skill and a lot of patience. It was very satisfying to watch students who at the start were nervous and apprehensive develop the confidence and maturity to catch the judge’s attention on the day of the competition.

The Young Handlers Competition is only one of a number of practical activities students get involved in over the year. Others include stock judging and workshop projects during which they make farm equipment such as creep feeders and land levellers.

The Young Handlers Competition was judged by Andrew Hamill, past Greenmount student from Aldergrove. Congratulations go to Mark Lyttle from Cookstown who won the competition and Matthew Dickey from Ballymena who was runner up.

For more information on Agriculture courses at Greenmount contact Kenneth Johnston, telephone: 02894 426769.

Winner of the Greenmount Young handler of the Year competition Mark Lyttle from Cookstown

Winner of the Greenmount Young handler of the Year competition Mark Lyttle [left of photo] from Cookstown. Also included are runner up Matthew Dickey from Ballymena and judge Andrew Hamill from Aldergrove

Some of the students taking part in the Greenmount Young Handler of the Year Competition. Also included is judge Andrew Hamill from Aldergrove