Agri Aware’s Farm Walk and Talk returns for 2024

At the launch of Agri Aware's Farm Walk and Talk series for 2024 in Tullamore, Co. Offaly were, l-r: Irish Farmers Journal Deputy and Beef Editor, Adam Woods; Teagasc regional manager, Con Feighery; Agri Aware chairman, Shay Galvin; Farm manager of the Irish Farmers Journal Demonstration Farm, Shaun Diver, alongside students from St Joseph's Secondary School Rochfortbridge. (Picture: Finbarr O'Rourke)

Agri Aware’s popular Farm Walk and Talk series is back for 2024 with second level students studying Agricultural Science soon set to walk onto farms from Donegal down to Cork and over as far as Meath.

This year’s series sees an extra venue added to an already action-packed schedule in order to cater for the ever-increasing demand of this series, in Donegal. Locally, March 20th will see the Teagasc Research College in Moorepark play host to students.

After a successful 2023 where just under 4,000 students took part, Agri Aware is looking forward to meeting teachers and students once again on farms where the most modern, up-to-date research, technology and practices are implemented on.

Over the years students have had memorable Farm Walk and Talk days, from observing milking, grading beef cattle, to attending sustainability and farm safety talks and even participating in the live lambing of sheep!

This year’s launch took place at the Irish Farmers Journal Demonstration Farm in Tullamore Co. Offaly which is one of the venues once again for this year’s series.

On the day, Agri Aware Chairman Shay Galvin and Executive Director Marcus O’Halloran were joined by partners of the series which include the Irish Farmers Journal, Teagasc and University College Dublin School of Agriculture and Food Science, as well as students from St Joseph’s Secondary in Rochfortbridge Co. Offaly.

Students this year will once again receive a physical copy of the Agri Aware Farm Walk and Talk student notes booklet, which were very popular among students and teachers last year. This booklet delves into many key areas of the curriculum as well as aiding students in the work they must undertake for their Individual Investigative Study (IIS) as part of the course.

In Munster, the following are the venues and dates for the 2024 Walk & Talk events: 28/02 Gurteen – Teagasc Agricultural College, Co. Tipperary; 05/03 Clonakilty – Teagasc Agricultural College, Co. Cork; 6/3 Pallaskenry – Teagasc Salesian Agricultural College, Co. Limerick; 20/03 Moorepark – Teagasc Research College, Co. Cork