28 September 2009

Interested in a career in Agriculture, Horticulture or Rural and Countryside Management? Filling in your UCAS forms? Yes – then have you considered studying in one of these subject areas at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise’s (CAFRE) Greenmount Campus?

CAFRE’s experienced staff, excellent facilities and close links with the industry all combine to ensure that all our students gain the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in their future careers.

Agriculture Graduate, Stuart Fulton

Stuart Fulton from Seskinore, Co Tyrone completed the Higher National Diploma in Agriculture at Greenmount Campus in June 2009. He has started his career working for Grove Dairy, a progressive dairy farm and milk processing business based in Castlederg, Co. Tyrone.

Stuart has taken up the position of Herd Manager of the 400 cow herd. The Higher National Diploma in Agriculture prepared Stuart for this work through his choice of modules - these included Animal Science, Grass and forage production, Dairy Production Systems and Enterprise Management.

Stuart chose the CREAM management option where he gained valuable hands on experience of managing a high output Holstein herd. In the final year of his studies Stuart participated in an exchange programme with Kildalton College in Co Kildare where grassland management and milk from grass were the main priority. This in addition to experience gained during his work placement with Strathroy dairies, on both the dairy unit and the milk processing plant have given Stuart the ideal skills required for his current post and for his future career in the agri-food sector

Horticulture Graduate, Rachel Ardis

Rachel Ardis from Scarva Co. Armagh completed a Foundation Degree at Greenmount Campus in June 2009. This was the culmination of four years of study at Greenmount as she had previously gained a National Diploma in Horticulture.

Rachel’s main interest is growing plants and she worked on two different Co. Armagh nurseries as part of her work experience. During this time she was able to put theory into practice and even suggested some improvements as a result of her applied investigative project on reducing waste when growing glasshouse crops.

The broad range of subjects in first year and the specialist modules in second year which involved growing, marketing  and selling  a wide range of plants gave Rachel the skills needed to gain a responsible job on a nursery but  despite a job offer she has decided to complete a top up degree to further develop her knowledge and skills.

Rural and Countryside Management Graduate, Timothy Delargy

Timothy Delargy, from Cushendun, graduated from the Foundation degree in Rural & Countryside management (RCM) course at Greenmount Campus. He successfully gained employment with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Fisheries division as a Fisheries Officer. This work involves responsibility for sea fisheries, aquaculture and fish health policy; the enforcement of fisheries legislation; the licensing of aquaculture and fishing vessel licensing.

Timothy commented ‘My time at Greenmount was beneficial in securing my present job, not only did I gain valuable knowledge in environmental matters, but I really believe that my RCM work placement and the careers skills I learned gave me the edge over more qualified applicants.’

If you want to have a career within the industry like Stuart, Rachel and Timothy then why not investigate the range of Higher Education courses that are available at CAFRE - Greenmount Campus. Come along to our Higher Education Open Evening on Thursday 8 October at 7pm and discuss your individual options with our staff.  See you there!

Stuart Fulton, an HND Agriculture graduate, now employed as Herd Manager with Grove Dairy pictured at Greenmount Campus Awards Day in June 2009.

Timothy Delargy, Foundation Degree in Rural and Countryside Management graduate on patrol in Lough Foyle

Rachel Ardis, Foundation Degree in Horticulture graduate pictured at Greenmount Campus Awards Day in June with her proud parents.