Emily’s summer of research could mean savings for farmers

An Offaly native received one of the category awards at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, representing a Westmeath school.

Emily O'Brien from Croghan, a student at Mean Scoil an Chlochair in Kilbeggan took second place in the intermediate individual section of the Biological and Ecological category with the project, 'Forever farming – Sustainable Pest Control’.

Efficacy, efficiency, economics and environmental impact were the four key questions that Emily focused on as she, under the guidance of teacher William Lynn, set herself the task of investigating whether there is an alternative to the use of harsh, chemically based pesticides that would be effective in treating flies on cows.

The good news is that Emily has discovered there is indeed an alternative, Neem Oil, which trumps the chemical alternatives on costs and is as effective and efficient and more environmentally friendly.

Emily explains that there is a certain urgency to the question, since in 2022, the European Commission set targets for reducing use of chemical pesticides by 50% in line with the EU's Farm Support and Biodiversity Act.

Emily spent the summer doing daily monitoring on a herd of sixty cows, and also surveyed a number of farmers and found that while 94% currently use chemical-based pesticides, 88% said they would use a cost-effective and efficient natural alternative if there was one available.

She found that the cost of Neem Oil worked out at about 12 cents per cow per treatment in comparison to approximately €1 for the chemical-based pesticides, meaning that it could be an effective alternative.