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28 Dec 2025
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28 Dec 2025
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Students from Ballymahon Vocational School in Longford were announced as the overall winner of the ABP Sustainable Farming Practices Award at the 2024 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) with their innovative project, “Are cow collars worth the hype?”.
Grace Cassells, Keira Hopkins and Lara Flood impressed judges with their innovative and forward-thinking project.
The project - “Are cow collars worth the hype?” - aimed to explore if cow collars can benefit farmers by reducing labour and improving cow’s health and well-being.
The new award category promotes sustainable innovation and excellence in agriculture.
The students were intrigued by the benefits of cow collars, and as part of the award submission they wanted to obtain a first-hand understanding of what farmers thought of these devices, and whether were they “worth the hype”.
The students examined the current labour input on Irish farms and the increasing age profile of Irish farmers.
For the tenth consecutive year, ABP has sponsored a category at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.
Stephen Connolly, Agriculture Sustainability Manager for ABP Ireland & Poland, said: “On behalf of ABP, I would like to congratulate Grace Cassells, Keira Hopkins and Lara Flood on their innovative project, which has deservedly been recognised with this year’s Sustainable Farming Practices award. The award aims to encourage and celebrate the next generation of innovators who are dedicated to finding sustainable solutions for the challenges facing modern agriculture.”
ABP has a long history in researching and promoting sustainable practices in Irish agriculture.
At its demonstration farm in Carlow, the company is working with Teagasc and ICBF to help beef farmers reduce their emissions. Trial results have shown the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of beef, by reducing the age of slaughter and through better genetics and better feed efficiency. Results from the trials n have been empirically tested and involve over 6,000 animals. The learnings are now being put to good use through exciting farmer initiatives such as the ABP Advantage Programme.
Prior to this, ABP sponsored the Farm Safety Award, which year-on-year has produced ground-breaking projects from students across the country.
The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is one of the largest and longest-running STEM events in the world with the 2024 exhibition being the 60th edition of the event.
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