Secondary school students around the country are promoting the Aberdeen Angus breed in the hope of winning five Angus-cross calves.
A team of transition-year students from Carrigallen Vocational School in Co. Leitrim are one of the 25 teams currently left in the competition.
Sarah Armstrong, Rebecca Morrison and Grainne Casey, who all come from a farming background, are busy promoting Irish Angus beef in their school and to farmers in the locality.
The team currently has a couple of hundred followers on their different social media platforms, which include Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.
The Co. Leitrim students entered the competition last October by submitting a three-minute-long video application. They then had to make it through a round of interviews, before qualifying for the final.
The students from Carrigallen Vocational School in Co. Leitrim at the interview stage in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
The main objective of the competition is to promote the advantages of breeding Angus and the financial benefits of participating in the Certified Irish Angus Scheme, Armstrong said.
“We were interested in the process of rearing Angus cattle from birth to slaughter and this competition would be a great way to gain hands-on experience, if we are successful in winning the calves.
We have an active social media campaign promoting the advantages and financial benefits of Angus.
“We regularly update our followers with facts, photos, videos and much, much more.
“We have held tasting events in our school and lots of other promotional events. We have loads more planned, much of which stills remains under wraps,” she said.
After an interview process held in Mullingar in mid-January, the students made it through to the final of the competition.
On March 15, the remaining teams will meet in Croke Park where they will present the ideas behind their campaigns to judges from different agricultural sectors, in the hope of claiming the top prize.
The competition has been a fantastic experience so far, Armstrong said, as she hopes her team will do enough to win the calves.
We all come from farming backgrounds and are heavily involved in the running of our family farms. Rebecca has a dairy farm, while Grainne and myself come from suckler farms.
“From entering this competition, we hope to gain a greater knowledge of breeding Angus and the Certified Irish Angus Scheme,” she said.