Certified Irish Angus has announced a new strategic partnership with Airfield Estate to educate consumers about sustainable beef production.
Building on Airfield’s ‘discovery’ teaching approach involving hands-on activities to engage audiences, the partnership will involve Certified Irish Angus cattle being reared on Airfield Estate’s city farm in South Dublin, which is accessible to visitors.
It will also see the development of educational resources to bring a greater understanding of quality beef production.
Certified Irish Angus has said that it has been promoting excellence in Angus beef production for over 25 years, and is at the forefront of adopting cutting-edge technologies to future-proof sustainable beef production. It is sold exclusively under the Tesco Finest range in Tesco stores nationwide.
Airfield Estate is Dublin’s sustainable food hub as a 38ac city farm and gardens and an educational charity which aims to enable people to make informed food choices.
Certified Irish Angus and Airfield Estate
The two organisations are coming together to deliver a shared objective to better bridge the urban-rural divide by educating consumers about the care and attention required to produce quality food.
Speaking about the announcement, general manager, Certified Irish Angus, Charles Smith, said: “We are excited to announce this partnership with Airfield Estate today and look forward to working closely with their team over the next few years.
“At Certified Irish Angus, we combine traditional farming with advanced scientific expertise to produce better beef, in a better way, for a better world.
“Through our popular secondary schools’ competition, we know that students enjoy learning about food production and agriculture, regardless of their background.
“Therefore, we believe that Airfield is an ideal destination and partner for Certified Irish Angus to connect with an urban consumer, and we hope that its ever-growing visitor base will enjoy this new feature,” he added.
CEO of Airfield Estate, Claire McEvilly added: “As an educational trust, we are thrilled to announce this partnership today with Certified Irish Angus and look forward to working together and helping to develop a greater understanding of sustainable food production in Ireland.
“In an environment where less and less people know a farmer and there is a reported drop in students taking agricultural science for the Leaving Certificate, there has never been a more important time for people to know where their food comes from, and how it is produced.
“By collaborating, we are confident that we can make even more impact and believe our visitors will relish the opportunity to meet the Certified Irish Angus cattle on our city farm and learn about this important native breed.”
Elite Breed Improvement Programme
In 2022, Certified Irish Angus introduced an innovative breed improvement programme, which was the first of its kind for any breed in Ireland.
It aims to enhance the genetics of Angus cross cattle in order to reduce carbon emissions and provide a cross-sectoral solution that will benefit pedigree breeders, dairy farmers, and beef producers.
It works by rewarding breeders through subsidies and premiums to use advanced genetics in order to achieve a 9% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per kg of beef.