I would encourage first year Ag Tech students to use the opportunity to learn about different farming sectors – it is easy to just be interested in the type of farming that you were brought up with, but the course allows you to learn about other sectors. Most importantly, make use of the year long placement and travel abroad. Throw yourself in at the deep end, you will thank yourself when you are older.
What does your current job role involve?
The print edition of the IFJ goes to press on Wednesday evening’s, so I usually have my time structured around that. I tend to visit farms and attend events across Northern Ireland later in the week (as much as possible) because time is more flexible then.
I am generally confined to my office at home in Limavady from the start of the week to write up articles for the paper. I also following proceedings in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster, but most of that can be done online from home. We publish content seven days a week online, including articles, videos and podcasts, and I contribute to that throughout the week.
I cover Northern Ireland farming news for the IFJ, as well as weekly updates from Dairylink Ireland, a farm development programme. I also compile the Northern section of the Agricultural Land Price Report, a magazine that is published in March each year. It involves a survey of land sales and analysis of price trends.
Did you complete a work placement as part of your programme at Queen’s?
My placement involved a summer research project at AFBI Hillsborough where I was conducting a study on a commercial pig farm in Co Antrim for three months. After that, I went to New Zealand for 11 months and worked on an 800-cow dairy farm near Invercargill, at the bottom of the South Island. I wrote updates for the IFJ when I was in New Zealand. I went abroad by myself, which was tough at the start, but looking back was beneficial for my personal development.
Peter McCann
Northern Correspondent, Irish Farmers Journal
BSc Agricultural Technology with Professional Studies Graduate
