Deadline approaches to apply for agricultural business course

ANYONE interested in applying for the CAFRE Agricultural Business Operations Level 2 Certificate Course has been urged not to miss the July 31 closing date for applications.

In 2023/24, 180 candidates enrolled and 179 successfully completed the Level 2 Agriculture Business Operations Course.

Training was delivered over 20 weeks from October 2023 to the end of February 2024 at the three CAFRE Campus locations with a total of 6 classes covering beef, sheep and dairying being taught.

Of the 2023/24 students, 97 per-cent were satisfied with the course and felt they had gained knowledge from participating in the course and would recommend the course to others.

They also indicated that the course will be of benefit to them when running their farm business.

Mark Bell from Cookstown, who recently successfully completed the course, said, “I really enjoyed the course and learned a lot from it and it suited me that it was held in the evenings as I work off farm during the day.

I currently work as a technical engineer with Keystone Lintels, and, along with my father, run a 100-cow dairy farm with followers.

“I enjoyed all aspects of the course, including grassland production and animal health, and I really enjoyed the visit to Philip Kyle’s Technology Demonstration Farm which gave me a number of new ideas which I am already implementing on my home farm.

“We are also currently in the process of upgrading a number of farm buildings as well as putting in a new 16-point Delaval dairy parlour. The Level 2 course has enabled me to meet other like-minded mature farmers and given me the impetus to continue to more the home farm forwards, and I would thoroughly recommend the course to anyone interested in agriculture.”

You can book a place on a course by visiting the CAFRE website.

A range of evenings, Monday to Wednesday will be available, however, choices will become more limited as classes fill up. Therefore, it is important that you book early to ensure you get the training event which best suits your needs.

The cost of the course is £150.

The classes will begin in early October and run weekly for 20 weeks. All of the classes will be based in one of the three CAFRE Campuses – Greenmount, Loughry and Enniskillen. Classes will be sector-based and include dairying, crops, beef, and sheep.