Latest news with #CollegeofAgriculture
IOL News
23-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
'Family motivated me to explore engineering'
Muhammad Azeez Image: Supplied THROUGHOUT his schooling years, Muhammad Azeez was always confused about what career to study. With a summa cum laude engineering degree now under his belt, it would be safe to say that Azeez opted for the right choice when he chose to study civil engineering at UKZN. "Choosing just one field seemed daunting to me," said Azeez, 22. "Ultimately, my family were the ones who motivated me to explore engineering. Out of all the different engineering branches, I think I chose civil engineering because of its direct impact on the running of cities, from roads to buildings to water infrastructure. I knew studying civil engineering would allow me to influence the state of essential infrastructure in our country." Growing up in Morningside in Durban, UKZN was a natural choice of institution. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading "I think what solidified my decision, however, was the virtual open day held by the College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science during Covid-19, as it showed me what studying engineering at UKZN would be like." Azeez said he covered a wide variety of subjects during the course of his degree. He enjoyed the structures modules, while his favorite module was fluids 3. "It introduced me to the behaviour of water flowing in open channels like rivers, and hydrology, which helps us understand and analyse rainfall and floods." In his fourth and final undergraduate year of study, Azeez had to tackle a full design project and a research project. For his design project, he was tasked with designing a water reservoir for the Westown development near Shongweni. This included compiling a design report, professional engineering drawings and design calculations. "While it was definitely stressful, it was also exciting and fulfilling to be able to apply the skills I learned over the past four years." For his research project Azeez investigated the use of silver nanoparticles in cement mortar linings of water supply pipes. "This was a very interesting experience for me as it included quite a bit of chemistry and microbiology and applying these concepts to the civil engineering field. I was fortunate to have amazing supervisors for both my design project and dissertation, who helped me through my projects while giving me the space to explore and discover my own solutions to problems." Azeez is currently working in Pretoria as a graduate civil engineer for the engineering consultancy, Zutari, as part of their Water Unit (dams and hydropower team). His future plans include registering as a professional engineer once he obtains the necessary experience, and pursuing a Master's degree as he enjoys doing research. He thanked his lecturers who, he said, pushed him to his limits. "They always knew how to get me to achieve my full potential." Azeez also thanked his friends and extended family. "I was fortunate to have a close-knit circle of people I could rely on both on and away from campus, which definitely alleviated some of the stress." In his spare time, Azeez enjoys reading as a method to disconnect from work and to relax, as well as building Lego. "Yes they're for adults as well." THE POST
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Daughter of mechanic, son of security guard among 1,271 graduating from UAS Bangalore on May 15
Spoorthi R., a student at the College of Agriculture, Mandya, and daughter of a two-wheeler mechanic and a homemaker, took up agriculture as per her parents' wishes. On May 15, she will be graduating from Bsc (Honours) Agriculture course with as many as nine gold medals, during the 59th convocation of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Bangalore. 'I tried to get into the medical field, but wasn't selected. I chose to study agriculture for my father's happiness. Today, with my results, I feel great. And I am happy that I fulfilled my parents' dreams. I want to pursue an MSc and then a PhD in the same sector as a researcher,' Ms. Spoorthi said. A total of 1,271 students — 871 undergraduates, 311 postgraduates, and 89 doctoral candidates — will be receiving their degrees during the convocation ceremony which will be held on the GKVK campus. Among these students, 63 will receive 150 gold medals and award certificates across various courses. Girls have overtaken boys, as 49 of them will receive 123 medals while 14 boys will receive 27 medals. Deepthi T.L., a BSc (Hons) Agriculture student, has secured the highest number of awards, receiving 13 gold medals and four donor certificates. Scientist in Lakshadweep Maarepalli Udaya Sindhu, a PhD student from the College of Agriculture, GKVK, Bengaluru, has secured 95.3% and will be receiving four gold medals and certificates. She lost her father when she was in class 4, while her mother is a government employee in Telangana. Ahead of her graduation, she has joined the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and is working as a Krishi Vignan Kendra (KVK) scientist in Lakshadweep. 'I am happy and grateful to my husband and cousin who helped me achieve this feat,' said Ms. Sindhu. Yakshith D.S., another student of Bsc (Honours) Agriculture, from the College of Agriculture, Chamarajanagar, has secured three gold medals and certificates. Although he had his interests in the medical sciences, Mr. Yakshith chose agricultural sciences due to his scores in the entrance exams. However, since he is also interested in the agricultural sector, after securing good results in his undegraduate programme, he nows wants to pursue an Msc and PhD. His father works as a security guard at the Reserve Bank of India while his mother is a homemaker. He has also given his IFFCO Agriculture Graduate Trainee exams and is awaiting the results.
Agriland
07-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
20 NI farmers visit The Netherlands to explore innovations
The College of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has led a farm innovation visit of 20 Northern Irish farmers to The Netherlands, in an effort to learn about the innovations being implemented on farms there in a bid to reduce ammonia emissions. The visit comes after the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA) published its 'Environmental Improvement Plan', which sought to develop an ammonia strategy to deliver reductions in emissions from agriculture in Northern Ireland. According to Judith McCord, senior air quality technologist with CAFRE, this visit to the Netherlands represented an 'ideal opportunity' to learn about cutting-edge research on ammonia reduction, the adoption of these technologies on farms, and to facilitate knowledge transfer on the topic to the 20 Northern Irish farmers in attendance. Dutch innovation The first day included a visit to Wageningen Dairy Research Centre at Leeuwarden, looking at the continuing research being carried out there on ammonia emissions, the measurement of ammonia emissions, and the direction of future research. Later that day, the group visited Marijin Van Art, a farmer within the Dutch 'Network of Practical Farms', who is monitoring the impact of emissions, based on changes in farm management. The 'Network of Practical Farms' was developed and run by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality as part of its climate policy, according to McCord. Frank Verhoeven, director of Boerenverstand, an independent consultancy firm for regenerative farming, addressed the group that evening on the role of data and how, by using a nutrient cycling assessment tool called the Kringloopwizzer, farmers can measure sustainability across a wide range of metrics in assessing farm emissions. On the second day, the group visited two Lely factories at Lely headquarters in Maassluis. Here, discussions centred on how technology has developed over the years and where the future of technology and innovation lies in meeting sustainability targets. The final visit was hosted by Farm Nescio, who McCord said was the first farm to have a milking robot installed in 1992 and has since further retrofitted technology to advance their sustainable enterprise. McCord stated that this was an 'ideal' farm to look at how retrofitting innovative technology has improved production efficiency and helped to chieve the Dutch legislative targets for emission reductions.
Agriland
05-05-2025
- Science
- Agriland
Reducing ammonia by up to 54% through combined innovations
Introducing management strategies to help reduce ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions and lessen the impact of the chemical on the surrounding environment is crucial. However, it is important to first of all understand the emission sources and magnitude of nitrogen (N) release to navigate the 'pinch points' on farm where you can employ innovative technologies to achieve maximum impact. Senior air quality technologist, Judith McCord states that modelling of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Dairy Centre inputs through the National Ammonia Reduction Strategy Evaluation System (NARSES) allowed the flow of total N and total amount of ammoniacal N (TAN) to be quantified. The use of this farm ammonia modelling tool identified where ammonia is produced and how N is managed through the farm enterprise cycle. The ammonia assessment was compiled using farm data relating to herd and manure management from the following three age stages of livestock: Dairy cows; Dairy calves (0-1-years-of-age); Dairy replacement heifer (1-2-years-of-age). CAFRE commissioned the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) to work on the modelling of farm ammonia emissions with and without ammonia mitigation technologies applied. The modelling assessed a range of legislative and voluntary measures implemented at the CAFRE Dairy Centre. Reducing ammonia Ammonia emissions for the CAFRE Dairy Enterprise for the year modelled amounted to 3.54t. This scenario comprised as follows: 187 Holstein Friesian dairy cows; 30% replacement rate; 100% stabilised urea used on grazing and forage ground (no calcium ammonia nitrate); 100% use of low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE); Targeted and reduced crude protein (CP) diet of 17% for the milking herd; Low emission flooring in the milking cow cubicle house and high frequency scraping; All above ground slurry stores covered with an impermeable cover. Application of slurry using LESSE reduces ammonia emissions on the CAFRE Farm Estates. Low emission flooring is used within the CAFRE Dairy Centre to reduce the mixing of faeces and urine. The non-mitigated comparison modelled comprised as follows: 100% calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) (no stabilised urea) Splash plate slurry application; No targeted or reduced dietary protein; Standard concrete flooring with limited scraping; Open above ground slurry stores. This scenario resulted in modelled emissions of 6.61t NH 3 /year. At the CAFRE Dairy Centre, lactating dairy cows had 48% lower ammonia emissions when there were mitigation strategies implemented in comparison to having none in place. The dairy replacement enterprise and dairy calves had 55% and 68% lower ammonia emissions respectively when the relevant mitigation technologies were applied. McCord commented that the result was very encouraging, and said: 'The use of ammonia-reducing technologies on Northern Ireland farms will help the sector reduce ammonia emissions.' Judith McCord, senior technologist, CAFRE reports on the use of reduced and targeted crude protein diets for the dairy cattle at CAFRE. Emission sources The biggest hotspots for emissions within the CAFRE Dairy Centre were in the milking cow category and manure handling during housing and spreading. Housing emissions account for 42% of the total in both the mitigated and non-mitigated scenarios. However, mitigation technologies modelled in housing such as low emission flooring and reduced protein diets accounted for reductions of 0.78t and 0.34t/year, respectively. Emission sources on farm showed positive reductions in manure spreading and manure storage, where the use of LESSE and impermeable covered slurry stores accounted for approximately 2t/year of combined reductions. Above ground slurry stores are covered to reduce ammonia emissions at the CAFRE Dairy Centre. The use of protected urea in the mitigated scenario reduced the amount of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions produced in comparison to unprotected urea. McCord said: 'Mitigation strategies that can be implemented at various stages of the system will help to reduce ammonia emissions.' 'Demonstrated clearly at CAFRE – the efficient management of nitrogen can contribute to a reduction of ammonia emissions by up to 54%.' The top three ammonia-reduction technologies to apply on farm, based on the CAFRE ammonia emissions scenarios, are as follows: 100% use of LESSE; Installing low emission flooring which has an ammonia efficiency factor of 11kg NH 3 , alongside high frequency scraping (every 2 hours); , alongside high frequency scraping (every 2 hours); Reducing CP in milking cow diets by up to 2%.
Agriland
02-05-2025
- General
- Agriland
NI National Hedgerow Week to take place next week
The Tree Council along with the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in Northern Ireland are celebrating hedgerows as part National Hedgerow Week which begins next Monday, May 5 and this year's theme is the 'Future of Hedgerows'. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has described hedges being an incredible asset to farms, providing shelter to livestock, capturing carbon and providing food and shelter for a significant proportion of wildlife. Senior biodiversity technologist at CAFRE Nicola Warden said:: 'National Hedgerow Week is about highlighting the important role hedgerows have in our farmed landscape. 'Working within the biodiversity team at CAFRE, we help the farm team to manage existing hedgerows and plant new ones across the farms. 'Throughout the year, it is important to be considering options for future hedge planting and management. 'An existing hedge could be rejuvenated, or a new hedge could be planted to connect two existing habitats, to provide shelter for livestock or to provide wildlife with a network of living field boundaries where they can find adequate spaces to nest, rest or forage within.' Student learning about planting new hedges at CAFRE A recent bird survey carried out across the CAFRE lowland farms found that there are a lot of hedgerow bird species such as blackbirds, wrens and dunnocks using CAFRE hedges to nest or forage in. CAFRE has been managing existing hedgerows to maximise their biodiversity potential through moving away from an annual cut to a three-year rotational cut on suitable internal hedges. 'This has increased the area available to birds to set up safe nesting sites where the nests can be out of reach of predators,' Warden continued. 'Moving to a three-year rotational cut will also allow the hedge species to produce more flowers during the summer and a lot of berries to feed the bird population throughout the winter period. A new mixed species hedgerow planted by students protected from weeds using biodegradable film 'In line with the theme for [National] Hedgerow Week, CAFRE is committed to providing students with the skills and knowledge required to allow them to plant new hedges in the future and manage existing hedges to maximise their biodiversity potential. 'Each year approximately 300m of new hedgerow is established with Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma students.'
