26 pupils and their teachers from six Northern Irish schools were in Belgium this week for a farm to fork study tour with ABP.
The three-day trip is part of their skills development experience as finalists in the 2022 ABP Angus Youth Challenge.
The tour commenced at ABP Newry and then moved on to Lismullin cookery school in Navan, Co. Meath.
There the teenagers learnt about the skills involved in butchery from Kettyle Irish Foods and got to cook their own perfect Angus steak.
Briefings were provided by ABP and Certified Irish Angus about the international market for Northern Irish Angus Beef before flying on to Belgium.
In Belgium the pupils were hosted at the Irish College Leuven. They presented to Flanders Farmers Union about the projects they are working on as ABP Angus Youth Challenge finalists and visited an Angus beef farm.
On the final day the pupils headed to Brussels to meet the NI Executive Office and Invest NI.
Employees from ABP Belgium gave an insight into the European arm of ABP’s business.
Educational visits to the famous Great War memorials and museums in West Flanders were also part of their action-packed schedule.
ABP’s head of supply chain development, Liam McCarthy, who accompanied the group along with other employees from ABP and Certified Irish Angus, said:
“The ABP Angus Youth Challenge helps teenagers learn, develop and gain the skills necessary to transition in to our sector.
“The study tour is one of many benefits that can be gained from taking part in the competition.”
Charles Smith of the Certified Irish Angus Producer group added:
“Young people’s education has been greatly disrupted by the pandemic. So we wanted to make this year’s trip all the more memorable for the finalists in the competition and their teachers.”
The ABP Angus Youth Challenge will open again for new entries in September