Students from Ballymahon Vocational School in Co. Longford have won the ABP Farm Sustainability Award at this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE).
The aim of the project titled “Are cow collars worth the hype?” was to see if cow collars benefit dairy farmers by reducing labour and improving cows’ health and well-being.
The students behind the project Grace Cassells, Keira Hopkins and Lára Flood said they wanted to get a greater understanding first-hand of what farmers thought of these devices.
The ABP Farm Sustainability Award was presented to the project that has the most practical use on a farm which is innovative and proven by testing yesterday (Friday, January 12).
ABP Farm Sustainability Award
The trio, who all come from a farming background, decided to device two different surveys. One for farmers that are using cow collars on their farm, and another for farmers who don’t.
“We asked farmers many different questions to try and get a greater understanding on how they felt about labour, fertility and how the overall health of the herd is.
“These surveys were very accessible, as they were completed online. Therefore, we got results from many farmers across the country,” Grace said.
As well as this, the three students approached companies that sell cow collars to discuss their products further, including from Censortec and Lely.
“We really enjoyed talking to many people about our project and building relationships with many different companies and farmers,” Grace said.
BTYSTE
Over 50 agricultural and biodiversity projects were on display at the 2024 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin this week.
Agriland went along to the exhibition to chat to some of the students who focused on agriculture-related projects, take a look at the video below.
Over 1,100 secondary school student finalists gathered at the RDS, with 2,042 projects up for competition at the BTYSTE this year.