1. Evening Echo, Wednesday, June 29,2016 5
AWARDS:ProfessorGerryBoyle,TeagascDirector;MichaelCreedTD,MinisterForAgriculture,FoodandtheMarine;Fiona
Muldoon,ManagingDirectorofFBD;andEmmaCotter,secondrunnerupintheTeagasc/FBDstudentoftheYearAwards.
From pharma to
farming success
A
YOUNG female farmer from
Fermoy has beaten off stiff
competition from more than 1,000
students to win one of the top
places in the Teagasc Student of the Year
Awards, writes Pam Ryan.
Emma Cotter, 26, was named second
runner up in the competition, and
received €1,000.
The awards are given to those who
show an outstanding level of dedication to
their vocation and an excellent perform-
ance in their agricultural studies.
Looking back over her academic ca-
reer, one would not think that the farm
had been the only thing calling out to her.
Her Leaving Certificate studies in-
cluded biology, chemistry, business and
agricultural science; a very scientific
mix, from which she gained an inspira-
tional 520 points.
“After completing my Leaving Certifi-
cate I decided to go to the United Kingdom
and study pharmacy,” she said.
“I completed a four year course in the
University of Sunderland and a one year
registration in a community pharmacy,
also in Sunderland.
“I was always interested in the science
subjects and knew I would never get the
points for Ireland so that’s why I trained
in the UK,” she added.
The three pharmacy courses in Ireland
currently stand at over 545 points each
through CAO applications, the lowest
they have been in recent years.
Yet, while Emma very much enjoyed
her time in the UK and still believes it to
be “a great experience to study abroad”
she recognised it was not the career path
for her.
“I always knew I wanted to do some-
thing agriculture-related but wanted to
get a degree in something before return-
ing to the home farm,” she said.
Emma worked in the pharmacy indus-
try for six months before returning home,
where she furthered her studies.
“I decided to leave the industry since I
was so keen to get the Green Cert
completed.”
A Green Cert is a qualification in a
specific area of the agricultural sector
obtained through Teagasc, which is
recognised here in Ireland and abroad.
“(It is) a course, which teaches the
theory, business side and practical side of
farming. I started the Green Cert in
September 2013 in Darra Agricultural
College in Clonakilty. I completed the two
year course with the first 20 weeks a full
time course. After that it was all based
from the home farm along with days in
Darra.”
Emma believes this particular agricul-
tural college is among the best with “ex-
cellent teaching standards and facilities”
and her win has as much to do with it and
Majella Moloney, Keith Kennedy and all
of the other staff, as it does with her and
her work.
A typical day in the life of this farmer is
like many others; milking cows, checking
on the herd, fertilising and topping,
keeping an eye on food and water levels,
keeping up to date with dosing and other
veterinarian tasks and maintaining the
farm itself.
It is a family farm. Her father has been
unable to continue his work there due to
diabetes but Emma splits the works with
her mother, Marian, now.
In the future she is hoping to expand
the dairy herd.
“It will depend on the milk price
though. It needs to increase in order to
keep the momentum there for young
people in the industry,” she said.
Emma has a positive outlook for the
role of women in the once male-domi-
nated sector.
She said: “Just go for it! There are
plenty of women who have great capabil-
ities to run farm businesses.”
Emma said she was delighted to receive
the award but is not sure what she will do
with her €1,000.
She was nominated by her college,
followed by an interview process. More
than 1,000 other applicants were put
through the rigorous process.
The awards celebrate those who have
completed their Level Six training
programmes and gained their Green
Certificates through Teagasc with the
aim of bettering their contribution to the
Irish agricultural sector.
Over the last two years there has been
an immense increase in demand for adult
Green Cert programmes and since late
2014 almost 4,500 students have been en-
rolled in part-time and distance learning
courses.
Tony Pettit, Head of Education in
Teagasc, addressed the recent awards. He
said: “Having interviewed Teagasc
Student of the Year finalists over the past
number of years, the quality of finalists is
improving year on year.
“It is very reassuring to see the depth of
knowledge and understanding of these
Teagasc finalists across key farm per-
formance indicators,
“Many of these young finalists have
already taken over significant levels of re-
sponsibility, or full responsibility on
home farms, or through farm partner-
ships and are well capable of doing so.’’
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the
Marine, Michael Creed, was also in
attendance. He said: “I believe that people
of your calibre will make an important
contribution to the future of the country’s
biggest indigenous industry.”
Chief Executive of FBD Holdings plc,
Fiona Muldoon, said: “We are delighted to
celebrate the achievements of these far-
ming students and future farmers. I ex-
pect we will see many of them emerge as
farming leaders in the years to come.”
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