Chalk Talk: Boyne CS launches ‘Future Farmers Mentorship Programme’ to connect students and local farmers

Boyne Community School Launches ‘Future Farmers Mentorship Programme’ to Connect Students and Local Farmers

Agricultural Science students at Boyne Community School, Trim, are preparing to welcome the farming community through their doors next month as they launch an exciting new initiative - the Future Farmers Mentorship Programme.

Taking place on 16 January 2026 from 10am to 11.30am, the event will bring local farmers into the classroom with one goal in mind: to bridge generations, strengthen agricultural ties, and inspire the next wave of young farmers in Meath.

Students have spent recent weeks studying topical issues facing agriculture today, from sustainability pressures and environmental demands to food security and the realities of running a modern farm. Now, they’re eager to hear directly from those working on the ground every day.

Ag Science Teacher Laura Murphy says the programme is all about connection and shared learning.

“This is an opportunity for everyone to learn. We want to encourage and support the next generation of farmers and celebrate our local food producers.”

Farmers attending the gathering will be invited to share their knowledge, stories and lived experience with the students in a relaxed setting over a cup of tea, the kind of conversation that often teaches more than any textbook ever could. The school hopes the mentorship morning will become an annual tradition, enriching both the curriculum and the community.

The 5th Year Agricultural Science students shared the motivation behind the initiative:

“Each week in our Agricultural Science class, we’ve been covering the big issues in the news that affect farming. We’ve realised just how many challenges and uncertainties farmers face today. We feel we can learn so much more from farmers themselves — about how they meet these challenges and what it’s really like to be a farmer in modern Ireland.

That’s why we want to start our ‘Future Farmers Mentorship Programme’. To kickstart it, we’re organising a tea and coffee morning in our school for local farmers and anyone working in agriculture. We hope that by connecting our school community with our wider farming community, we can build opportunities, make connections and create time to socialise — because we know farming can be very isolating at times.

We want to learn from farmers with real-life experience, to support us in our studies and inspire us as potential young farmers — or in whatever career we might follow within agriculture. We also want to highlight the importance of our food producers and celebrate the quality and standard of farming in Ireland.

So if you’re reading this and you’re a member of the farming community in the Trim area, we’d love to welcome you on Friday 16th January to share your knowledge and help shape the next generation of Irish farmers.”

The Future Farmers Mentorship Programme reflects Boyne Community School’s commitment to hands-on, community-engaged learning and to honouring the vital role of agriculture in Meath’s heritage and economy.

Event details:

📍 Boyne Community School, Dublin Road, Trim, Co. Meath, C15 RK79

🕙 Friday, 16 January 2026 — 10am to 11.30am

All local farmers are warmly encouraged to attend.