Plans progress for Mountbellew Agricultural College ‘Smart-Dairy’ as Galway County Council grant permission for new development
The Principal of Mountbellew Agricultural College, Dr Edna Curley, welcomes Galway County Council’s recent decision to allow construction of a new dairy facility at the Mountbellew campus. Galway County Council granted permission to Mountbellew Agricultural College (MAC) to replace the current facilities with a new, state-of-the art suite of buildings. The new development will include milking parlour, animal handing facility, dedicated classroom and training room, viewing gallery and canteen.
"This announcement is a huge boost for everybody. The new facility will provide our learners with the opportunity to study in new state-of-the art facilities, providing an immersive learning experience underpinned by sustainable farm production and performance. The facility will vastly improve the quality of our training, and it has been designed to ensure we maintain our ethos of strongly practical and applied programmes," says Dr Edna Curley.
The new 1,279 sqm dairy building project has been developed by MAC in association with its partners Atlantic Technological University (ATU) and Teagasc and is of strategic importance to MAC and its partners. MAC is a campus of ATU and delivers programmes in Agri-Business, Agri-Engineering and Agri-Environmental with the university. Similarly, MAC is a partner college of Teagasc and delivers the Certificate in Agriculture and Advanced Certificates in Dairy Management, Drystock Management and Mechanisation. The proposed facilities will be equipped with the latest technology to allow for innovative and flexible new approaches to training and also support sustainable farm production.
Dr Orla Flynn, ATU President, says “I want to salute the team at Mountbellew Agricultural College for their vision and foresight – this new development is a big step forward for all our agri- related programmes. ATU is proud to be a partner with MAC, and to have such strong collaboration across a whole range of programmes that are relevant for our region and far beyond. I look forward to a continued bright future for this sector!”.
Professor Frank O’Mara, Director of Teagasc, says “this is a really exciting development in Mountbellew College, and this new facility will enhance the teaching and learning experience for all learners including those completing Teagasc programmes. It’s important that the next generation of farmers in this region have the opportunity to learn and develop their skills in state-of-the-art facilities.”
Ireland is recognised as a global leader in the dairy sector in terms of safety, sustainability and traceability. Ireland’s strategy for the overall agri-food sector promotes the quality of Irish produce through initiatives such as Origin Green and the Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme, the world’s first internationally accredited national dairy assurance scheme, to which the dairy farm at Mountbellew is a subscriber. The Irish dairy sector provides multiple positive effects for rural Ireland in terms of an outlet for quality farm produce as well as a source of high-quality employment and commercial investment in rural communities.
Steven Dolan, CEO Galway Rural Development, says "the approval for the new dairy facility isn’t just good news for Mountbellew Agricultural College, it’s good news for the people of the town and region. Mountbellew is such a dynamic place and the progress in developing training and employment opportunities are key to the wider development goals we share with Edna and her team. We warmly welcome the development and will support it in any way we can."
The design team for the new MAC ‘Smart-Dairy’ is led by the Grasstec Group.
Regina Daly, Atlantic TU Communications
Tel: +353 (0)91 742826 Mob: +353 (0)879618355
regina.daly@atu.ie www.atu.ie/news