Enterprising students steal the show with agri-themed ideas

Eighty-five shortlisted students showcased their business ideas at this year’s student enterprise final, but only one could be awarded the Student Enterprise of the Year. The event took place on Thursday, 8 May in Mullingar, with many participants creating business plans and products based on and around agriculture.

As Ireland’s largest student entrepreneurship initiative, now in its 23rd year, the programme has seen over 450,000 secondary school students start real businesses since 2003.

Each year, the competition challenges students to create, set up and run their own business. Entrants must show viable sales of their service or product to be in with a chance of making the national final. The county finals take place between February and March each year, with one student and team going forward to take part in the national final.

Irish Country Living caught up with three finalists who showed innovation and creativity as they incorporated their passion for agriculture into their enterprise idea. Two of them took home awards for their projects on the day.

Suet and Song

Michael O’Keeffe, St Kieran’s College, Co Kilkenny

Second-year student Michael O’Keeffe is crafting high-quality suet cakes designed to attract and nourish a variety of backyard birds. He won the overall winner in the intermediate category. The cakes are made from nutrient-rich ingredients, including premium beef fat and seeds, providing essential energy and sustenance, especially during colder months.

“They are suet balls for birds made out of locally sourced suet from cows that we get from a local abattoir near our farm. I am using high-quality ingredients in them, and they’re made in different shapes to make them stand out from our competitors.

“I came up with the idea by looking at all the different waste products or by-products that come out of processing a cow. I was thinking of the different things we could make with those products.

“We have a dairy farm at home and send a few heifers to the abattoir every year. To make the product, we get the suet and melt it down to separate the impurities. We then add in peanut butter, bird seed and other ingredients,” he explains.

Michael started the project in school as part of the student enterprise programme and got help from his granny Margaret, who taught him the process of making them.

“They’re made from by-products of the beef industry. So, by using it for an environmentally friendly purpose, you cut down on food waste, and it also helps the birds get through the winter.”

Suet and Song bird fat cakes are currently on sale in pharmacies around Kilkenny and at the Tirlán FarmLife store in Goresbridge for €2 each or a multipack for €5.

Pole Plucker

Donal Bennet, Hazelwood College, Co Limerick

The Pole Plucker is an implement that attaches to the front of a tractor that will allow a person to remove fencing posts safely and efficiently. On the day Donal Bennett won the Shining Star Award. The implement is a piece of metal tubing that has spikes mounted on its outer edge, which catch the post to pull it from the ground.

Donal comes from a dairy farm where there is a long tradition of farming and engineering. The product was inspired after he and his dad were removing an old fencing line at a temporary car park set up for a local country festival which takes place in Castletown every year.

“There’s temporary car parking set up with lines of fencing posts in the field. We need to use the field after the festival, so it has to be cleaned up and the posts taken in. Every year we have to rock them over and back in between two people and try to pull them out of the ground. I was thinking, surely, there’s got to be an easier way to do this than that,” says Donal.

This led to the invention of the Pole Plucker to make this job easier and safer for farmers.

“It’s a piece of metal tubing, and around the edge, three spikes are hinging. It goes down over the posts, and as you lift, those spikes get pushed inwards towards the post. The harder you pull them, the tighter it gets until the post gets pulled out of the ground. Then, when you’re finished, you just push it back down again, and it releases,” explains Donal who is selling Pole Puckers for €200 – however, the price might change as he is still developing the product.

Helpful Hoist

Jack O’Sullivan, Castleisland Community College, Co Kerry

The Helpful Hoist was created by first-year student Jack O’Sullivan, when he realised there were no hoists on the market available for calves and lambs. He wanted to assist these weak or sick calves and lambs and build a machine for dosing small animals.

On the day Jack was awarded the Best Innovation Award in the junior category.

“We have a suckler beef farm at home. I made the product out of steel, a winch, a trampoline net and a weighing scales. It took me two or three weeks to make the prototype, as I was trying and testing different ideas in my spare time and trying to make improvements. My dad, John, gave me a lot of help with the building.

“I wanted to do something with farming that could help the industry. I was up against five others in the Kerry final, and it was a complete surprise when I won the county round. I am happy with the product I have now and I hope to continue selling it,” says Jack.

The product costs €160 to buy, including the weighing scales.

See suet_and_song; for Pole Plucker enquiries email Donalbennet@gmail.com; or for Helpful Hoist enquiries email Jackosullivan564@gmail.com