The honours degree in agricultural technology which is delivered at CAFRE Greenmount in conjunction with Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) is to end.

A spokesperson for QUB confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that the last intake of students for the degree will be in September 2025.

“Queen’s continually reviews its degree programme delivery to ensure our graduate output meets the needs of their respective markets and practice.

“Following a School of Biological Sciences review, it was recently concluded that changes need to be made in agricultural provision,” the spokesperson said.

The agricultural technology degree has been running for over 20 years and is offered to students as either a three- or four-year programme.

The first two years of teaching are delivered at Greenmount, then there is an optional work placement year, with the final year taking place at Queen’s in Belfast.

It is understood that 18 first year students enrolled in the degree last year.

The only other degree level course in agriculture available at CAFRE is validated by Ulster University.

The honours degree in sustainable agriculture, which began in September 2021, typically has around 40 new students enrolling each year.

It remains to be seen if QUB will offer a new degree in agriculture from September 2026 onwards, or if more degree level courses will become available at CAFRE.

The spokesperson for QUB said the university plans to continue working with CAFRE across a range of projects.

“We remain committed to our wider partnership with CAFRE including the delivery of an MSc (Master of Science) in business for agri-food and rural enterprise business and a suite of other areas that we work in partnership on,” the spokesperson said.