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Matthew Bloomer

My name is Matthew Bloomer, and I have just finished my Level 2 Work Based Diploma in Agriculture at CAFRE.  I attended class one day a week in Banbridge and for the remainder of the time I worked alongside my father, on our Dairy and Beef farm, near Eglish, County Tyrone.  We milk around 180 dairy cows, rearing all youngstock; heifers for replacements and bulls for beef. We also have a herd of pedigree Dexter cattle, selling beef to Marks & Spencer and a local restaurant. We also buy some store lambs to graze over the winter period. So we are always kept busy! 

I have always enjoyed working on the farm at home, and knew that farming was the career for me – but I felt that I needed to continue my education in agriculture. I looked at the options available to me, and decided to that I did not want to go into full time education. I enjoy being outside and spending my time doing practical work. The Level 2 Work Based Diploma course suited me perfectly as I get to study agriculture – but also farm at home. 

Each Thursday at CAFRE my classes were split, in the morning we practiced practical skills on farm, and after lunch we studied theory in class. We covered subjects such as animal health and welfare, animal selection and breeding and feeding livestock. We also gained experience carrying out routine treatments such as dosing, injecting and record keeping. I enjoyed how this course allowed me to discover new ways of doing things, and learned a range of new skills. This meant I was able to bring new knowledge and methods back to the home farm, putting my learning from the course into practice.  

This course is not only run in Banbridge, there are also Level 2 students based in Greenmount Campus, Enniskillen Campus, Loughry Campus, Swatragh and Markethill. I have enjoyed my course and am planning to advance on to the Level 3 Work Based Diploma in Agriculture course in September, with many of my classmates.