Teaching dairy farmer named Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year

Teagasc chairman Liam Herlihy, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue TD with Ellen Vaughan, the Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year for 2022. Picture: John Ohle Photography.

Dairy farmer and teacher Ellen Vaughan has been named as Teagasc/FBD Student of the Year for 2022.

The Meath native was honoured at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 9, for completing the Level 6 Distance Green Cert at Teagasc, Navan, County Meath – when she wasn’t working full-time as a home economics and Irish teacher and also working part-time on her family’s dairy farm. 

Ms Vaughan said she completed the Level 6 course to become more confident in the everyday running of the farm and look at the science behind farming. She said she hopes to be able to cut back on teaching and spend more time helping her father with the farm in future – as well as continue to bring agriculture into her classroom.

Announced as the winner of the Student of the Year title, and a €1,500 prize, Ms Vaughan was noted for her “exceptional attention to detail” during the course, and her deep knowledge of both the husbandry and technical aspects of farming.

“It’s a lovely recognition, thank you very much to Teagasc for all of the support and the continued support… any question you have there’s always someone there to pick up the phone so, thank you to Teagasc,” said Ms Vaughan.

The awards were presented by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue. Other winners on the night included Laura Lynch from Kildare in the Drystock Category, and Amanda Draper from Cork in the Other Land-Based Enterprises category.

Dr Anne Marie Butler, head of education at Teagasc, congratulated the finalists and thanked education colleagues for their commitment and dedication. She said that in 2022, almost 4,500 students successfully completed training with Teagasc and were awarded a QQI certificate.

Speaking at the awards, Michael Berkery, chairman of FBD Trust, said that they are delighted to continue sponsoring the Teagasc / FBD Student of the Year awards this year.

“On behalf of the team at FBD, I would like to congratulate the finalists on their achievements and wish them all the very best in their future farming careers,” he said.

Other finalists were Tim Crowley, Owain Buttimer, and Paul Dineen from Cork; Jathan McMahon from Clare; Gearoid Kennedy from Kilkenny; Hanna Sheerin from Wicklow; Fred Dolan from Roscommon; Michael Mulry from Galway; Niall Gillespie from Mayo; Ryan McGovern from Cavan; Gavin McGarrigle and Neil Furey from Donegal; Meghan England from Australia; and Prabhjit Singh from India.

Teagasc chairman Liam Herlihy congratulated the winners and all the finalists, saying that they and their families can be proud of their achievements, which were acknowledged and recognised in the awards.

“I wish them well in their careers. I would also like to thank FBD Insurance for their continued support for these awards and other Teagasc initiatives,” he said.