Meabh Mulholland- CAFRE student profile

My name is Meabh Mulholland and I am from Derrymacash, Co Armagh. I am currently studying for a Foundation Degree in Agriculture and Technology at Greenmount Campus.

As part of my degree, I completed a 48 week industrial placement. Following some helpful discussions with my CAFRE Work Placement Adviser, I decided to take the opportunity to gain as much industry experience as possible, applying for placements in both the UK and abroad. I applied for a 3 month placement at ABP Lurgan and the rest of the year was spent on a dairy farm in New Zealand.

At ABP Lurgan, I had a range of duties to participate in depending on where I was located within the plant. I experienced many aspects of the business such as performing animal welfare audits. The time I spent in the lairage in ABP Lurgan was my favourite area to work overall. Each day was varied; I had the opportunity to meet new people and get to know farmers that would come in. I further developed my skills in using different computer software for moving livestock and organising kill schedules for the upcoming day. Working in ABP highlighted to me that I have a strong passion for working with livestock and therefore I decided to finish my year of placement in.

I was also delighted to get placed on a dairy farm with a 1050 cow herd, 12,500 miles away in New Zealand South Island, Mid Canterbury! My first observation when I arrived on the farm was that all the cows were out in the winter paddocks, dried off, and no cows were kept inside. The only shed on the farm was the dairy shed. The cows would be walked to this shed twice a day and milked through a 60-point rotary parlour. The milking could be carried out by one person as it had a backing gate and automatic teat sprayer and automatic cup removers. The next big difference I learned about was that the whole farm needed to be irrigated due to the hot summers. The summer temperature can reach highs of 35° to 40°C and in winter lows of -10°C. Over the winter period and into calving, the working rota was five days on farm and two off. After calving until May the working rota was five days on and three days off, which left plenty of time to travel through the South Island and explore the culture.

Milking started each day with cups on at 4am in the morning which meant cows were brought in from paddocks to the shed around 3.30am, depending on where the cows were grazing. Milking was finished up by 7.30am. Afternoon milking started at 1.30pm and milking was finished up and all cows put out onto new pasture and workers home by 5.30pm.

My highlight off farm was a visit to Queenstown for New Years Eve celebrations, which was fantastic. I went on boat trips in Akaroa, relaxed in hot springs in Tekapo and had numerous shopping trips to Christchurch. I really enjoyed exploring all parts of the South Island. 

I was sad to say goodbye when I returned home during August 2023, I have made lifelong friends through this amazing experience, and I know that this trip has widened my appreciation and understanding of dairy farming. I plan to return to New Zealand following completion of my Foundation degree and I cannot wait!

Through completing my work placement, I have gained so much experience within the beef, lamb and dairy sector and it gave me an invaluable insight into the world of work

I am now in my final year of study at CAFRE and happy to be back at Greenmount Campus. I hope to complete my Foundation Degree and then progress on to the Sustainable Agriculture Honours Degree pathway by completing one additional year of study.