Salesian Agricultural College will host an open day on Saturday, June 22, to give prospective students an overview of the courses the college has to offer.
Situated on a 620ac farm in Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick, the college offers a wide range of practical training courses and programmes to the over 800 students currently enrolled.
The farm is home to a 460-cow dairy herd, a dairy calf-to-beef enterprise, suckler enterprise and a flock of 50 mid-season lambing ewes, together with modern machinery and workshop experiences.
Salesian College offers students a number of courses, including:
- Teagasc Level 5 Certificate in Agricultue;
- Teagasc Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture (Dairy Herd Management);
- Teagasc Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture (Drystock Management);
- Teagasc Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture (Mechanisation);
- Teagasc Distance Education Green Cert (for award holders);
- Higher Certificate in Agricultural Mechanisation (TUS);
- Bachelor of Engineering in Agricultural Engineering.
Adult Green Cert
The Green Cert training for adults is offered through the Teagasc Distance Education Green Cert Programme.
The courses is of 15 months duration and attendance in college is on Saturdays.
The next course commences on September 21, 2024, with applications being accepted from September 1, 2024.
More information on this can be found here.
Hands-on dairy experience
The college is home to a herd of 460 dairy cows, which currently sits within the top 3% of herds for economic breeding index (EBI) in the country.
Grazed under a spring-calving grass-based system, the dairy herd has an average EBI of €242 and consists of a mixture of Friesian and some Jersey cross cows.
The students who attend Salesian Agricultural College will be trained in grass measuring and budgeting and a weekly grass budget is prepared using PastureBase, as well as all farm management requirements.
Sustainability
Salesian Agricultural College – Pallaskenry is a national leader in the demonstration and adoption of practices that employ science-based solutions to support agriculture production in sustainable manner.
- All straight nitrogen (N) is applied as protected urea. This has been the case for the last four years;
- Soil sampling is done annually, with the January 2024 analysis indicating 95% of the farm at or above a pH of 6.2;
- Soil fertility is good with 98% of the farm medium to high for phosphorous (P) (index 3 and 4) with the remainder low (index 2). 93% of the farm is medium to high for potassium (K) (index 3 and 4) with the remainder low (index 2);
- All slurry is applied using Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS), with a large percentage applied in the spring. This has been the practice for the last four years;
- Lower applications of chemical N during the main growing season has allowed a lowering of total N use.
- Weekly grass measuring and the use of Pasturebase is resulting in over 15t/ha grass dry matter (DM) being grown annually;
- An annual herd health plan is drawn up with the farm vet, as well as Sensehub health and detection and heath detection collars, plus regular locomotion scoring is leading to healthy productive herd;
- Herd EBI is €242, with the 2023 and 2024 females at an average of €278 and €285 respectively;
- All heifers calve at an average of 24 months and all replacements in the ewe flock lamb, as ewes lamb at 12-months-of-age;
- Earlier finishing of beef cattle by selecting bulls based on the Dairy Beef Index (DBI) and using all artificial insemination (AI);
- The percentage of clover in grassland is being increased through a combination of reseeding and oversowing clover into existing swards.
Ag Mech
The mechanisation courses on offer are recognised widely within the industry as the most practical hands-on courses on offer/
The course content, experienced staff, student projects and placement, with some of the best hosts in the industry making the courses in Pallaskenry unique.
If you want a career in the mechanisation industry, then be sure to come to the open day.
New developments
The AGCO Technical Qualification Programme Ireland, in collaboration with AGCO and the Technical University of Shannon, is Ireland’s only manufacturer-led technical qualification programme.
AGCO’s commitment to the future of farming will see aspiring Irish agricultural technicians attain a Level 6 Higher Certificate in Engineering and Agricultural Mechanisation and progress into positions within the AGCO dealer network across Ireland.
This programme had its first intake of students in September 2023.
The Drystock Enterprise (Beef and Sheep) started organic conversation on January 1, 2024.
The conversion of the drystock enterprise to an organic system offers students learning experiences that will demonstrate an environmentally, socially and financially sustainable farming system.
There will be key learnings from this system that will be applicable to all students.
The college will host an open day on Saturday, June 22 at the Salesian Agricultural College, Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick.
The open day will run from 10:00a.m to 2:00p.m with tours of the campus taking place throughout the day.
