Over 330 secondary school students attended the Agri Aware Farm Walk and Talk event at Salesian Agricultural College in Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick today (Friday, February 28).

The event, which is part of a wider series, allowed the students, who are all studying agricultural science for the Leaving Cert, to gain real-life experience about on working farms.

Students from counties Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Clare, Galway toured 550ac dairy and drystock farm through a range of stations focused on specific topics.

As part of the tour, the students viewed the college's 50-unit Dairymaster rotary parlour in action and some were given the chance to help with milking.

Marcus O'Halloran, executive director of Agri Aware, said that some 4,500 students are expected in total to attend the 15 Farm Walk and Talk events over the coming weeks.

"Farm Walk and Talk provides that unique experience to hear from the experts in those different subjects.

"They hear from the teacher every day but it's important to get out and hear from the experts from colleges like Salesian and to see the practice of the theory that they are learning in the classroom," he told Agriland.

O'Halloran added that it is important young people understand the role played by farmers in food security, food production, animal health and welfare, along with looking after the environment.

Salesian Agricultural College has been training farmers for over 100 years in Co. Limerick.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) Michael Healy-Rae, who was present at today's event, is also a former student.

"Pallaskenry means an awful lot to me, because I came here a few years ago as a student.

"The yard we're standing in today, many's the day that I came up here milking cows and driving an old [Massey Ferguson] 35. I always enjoyed it here," he told Agriland.

The minister was on hand to present the winners of Agri Aware's Farm Safety First programme with their cheque for €600 and certificates.

The Farm Safety First programme, supported by DAFM, aims to raise awareness about the challenges and dangers in farming, promote safe farm practices and provide guidance to transition year students currently working on farms or considering a future in farming.

The programme covers a range of farm safety topics, including personal safety, identifying hazards, livestock safety, and best practices when working with machinery.

The winning submission came from Gavin Joy, Eoin Quilter and Eoghan O'Regan students from St Michael's College Listowel Co. Kerry who worked together to design a motorised magnetic slurry tank cover.

Minister Healy-Rae congratulated Eoin, Gavin and Eoghan and their teacher Rebecca Stapleton for their work and innovation to improve safety around slurry handling.

"Slurry is an important resource on our farms, but we must never forget that slurry is potentially lethal, and its storage, handling and spreading are high risk activities which have led to close calls, injuries and unfortunately, fatalities," he said.

Over 6,300 students took part in the national competition for transition year students.

Shay Galvin, Agri Aware chair, said that the students from St. Michael's College "applied the lessons from the programme in a creative and practical way to address a common danger on Irish farms".

"This is exactly what we hoped to achieve, teaching students to take responsibility for their own safety and make smarter, safer decisions, when they are on farms and to come up with innovative solutions to make farms a safer place for all," he said.

Minister Healy-Rae also praised the work of Agri Aware and said that he wanted the organisation to reach more young people in the future and bridge "the gap between urban and rural".

"It is so important through education, through programmes, through training to let people know exactly what farming is all about and to do away with misconceptions," he said.

In his address to the students, Minister Healy-Rae, who has responsibility for farm safety, urged the young farmers present to be "acutely aware of farm safety".