College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise

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College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) is a public tertiary level land-based college offering training in agriculture, food technology, horticulture, equine and agri-business.[ citation needed ] Operating at three sites in Northern Ireland, [1] the college is funded by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) of the Northern Ireland Executive. [2] [ citation needed ] It is an associate member of the Landex consortium of "Land Based Colleges Aspiring to Excellence". [3]

Contents

History

Founding of three campuses (1907-1999)

CAFRE has three campuses in Northern Ireland, [4] which began as individual colleges. [5]

In January 1907, Ulster Dairy School was opened by the Irish Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction in Loughry. It catered to female students and had two main courses. It was transferred to the Northern Ireland Ministry of Agriculture in 1922. In 1949, it became Loughry Agricultural College, and it became co-educational in 1962. In the 1970s, it was known as the Loughry College of Agriculture and Food Technology. In the 1990s, it became part of CAFRE. [5]

With the intent of creating an agricultural college in northeast Ulster, the Greenmount estate was purchased in 1910 by the County Antrim Committee of Agriculture. After some changes to the building, the first session was held on 8 October 1912 with 11 students. [6]

The Enniskillen campus was founded in 1967 as Enniskillen College. In 1992, it added equine-related programs. [7]

Recent years (2000-2025)

In 2010, a total of 1,561 students were attending, of whom around 400 were full-time undergraduate students. [1]

In 2024, CAFRE began a £32 million redevelopment of its Greenmount Campus in Antrim. It was also investing £43 million into its Loughry campus outside Cookstown. [8]

Eric Long was head of education at CAFRE in 2025. [9] In 2025, it launched two new bachelor degrees in agri-food developed with Ulster University. [10]

Students

In 2025, its website listed 1,700 students. [4]

The school's The Students' Council is affiliated with the National Union of Students. [1]

Campuses

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Merry, Louise (20 June 2011), College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise guide, Daily Telegraph {{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ↑ Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
  3. ↑ Landex: Membership
  4. 1 2 About, CAFRE, 2025, retrieved 10 February 2025
  5. 1 2 3 Loughry Campus History, CAFRE, 2025, retrieved 10 February 2025
  6. 1 2 Greenmount Campus History, CAFRE, 2025, retrieved 10 February 2025
  7. 1 2 Enniskillen Campus History, CAFRE, 2025, retrieved 10 February 2025
  8. ↑ Mulgrew, JOhn (1 May 2024), £32m redevelopment of Northern Ireland agri-food campus takes major step forward, Belfast Telegraph , retrieved 10 February 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  9. ↑ Part-time Agriculture Apprenticeship students get CAFRE awards, Impartial Reporter, 9 January 2025, retrieved 10 February 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  10. ↑ Birch, Rachel (26 January 2025), CAFRE launches two new agri-food bachelor degrees, Agriland, retrieved 10 February 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
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