15 success-filled photos from CAFRE's bursary awards celebration at Cookstown

CAFRE’s Loughry Campus hosted the annual event attended by Agriculture, Equine, Food and Horticulture students and industry partners.

Fintan McCann, head of Food Education, remarked: “Today we recognise the significant scale of financial support from our industry partners across our degree disciplines of Agriculture, Equine, Food and Horticulture with an impressive £106,000 being awarded.”

As part of CAFRE’s Industry Support Programme, Food students benefitted from £35,500 of awards. This was assigned to students undertaking BSc Honours and Foundation Degree programmes validated by Ulster University, at Loughry Campus, Cookstown.

Twelve companies presented bursary awards to students which included Avondale Foods, Bank of Ireland, Dale Farm, Danske Bank, Fane Valley, Henderson Group, Kerry (Omagh), Lakeland Dairies, Leprino Foods, Mackle Petfoods, Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association and Tyrone Farming Society. The first year Food degree students received a combined total of £18,000 in bursary awards.

Additionally, seven second-year Food degree students secured scholarship awards, with a combined value of £17,500. These were provided by Avondale Foods, Dunbia, Lakeland Dairies, Mackle Petfoods and Water Technology. The scholarship competition combines a financial payment of £2,500 with the opportunity to complete a paid work placement year within the business.

In his address, Paul McHenry, interim CAFRE director, commented: “The agri-food industry is a cornerstone of Northern Ireland’s economy. It contributes significantly to the region’s productivity with total sales exceeding £6 billion per year with a workforce of over 113,000 staff.

“With approximately 90% of its output destined for export markets, the Northern Ireland agri‑food sector is well positioned for continued growth and long‑term career opportunities. "