The Teagasc Kildalton Agriculture, Horticulture and Equine College in Piltown county Kilkenny recently held an open day to celebrate its 50th year as an education college.
Kildalton College first opened its doors to young farmers in 1971 with 29 students enrolled. The following year the Horticultural College opened with 18 students and the Equine College in 1986 with four students. Today, Kildalton College is the largest college in the Teagasc network providing education and training to more than 1,300 students each year.
Tim Ashmore, College Principal said: “During this period the college has fostered strong collaborations and progression routes with higher education institutions. In 1979, courses commenced in conjunction with the Regional Technical College in Waterford which then became Waterford Institute of Technology and is now known as South Eastern Technological University. This, and later collaborations with UCD and TUD continue to flourish.”
Dr Anne Marie Butler, Head of Education in Teagasc said: “Teagasc has invested in facilities and staff in the college throughout the 50 years to provide the best possible education for the next generation of farmers. We continuously develop our staff and incorporate best practice into our training programmes and into the ongoing development of our facilities. Visitors to the college for our open day last Saturday could see for themselves the high quality and standards of our course offerings and our modern teaching facilities. I would like to thank all my colleagues for their hard work in making the Kildalton 50th event such a success.”