A group of Transition Year (TY) students from Co. Westmeath will be bringing their farm-focused invention to the grand stage, as their business prepares to represent their home county at the Student Enterprise National Final next month.

Students Hannah O'Connor, Amy Duane and Amy Reynolds, who attend Our Lady's Bower in Athlone, came up with their mini company, GreenYard, after identifying a recurring problem on local farms.

Speaking to Agriland, the pupils said: "We wanted to come up with something that actually solved a problem.

Through discussions with their parents and surveys with farmers, the students found that the problem was both widespread and largely overlooked.

To address this persistent issue, the group decided to create a product that could store empty bags in a more organised way on farms.

Their product, called the ReBag stand, is designed to make it easier for farmers to reuse and recycle meal and fertiliser bags, while also improving overall farm safety and tidiness.

The girls outlined: "After you're finished with the bag, you just place it over the stand and you can stack multiple bags together.

Farmers who provided feedback through the student's surveys described the product as "simple but effective", with many noting that "it would be helpful on their yard as they just don't really think twice about throwing empty bags on the floor".

The students also emphasised the importance of sustainability within their project as empty bags are frequently blown into hedges or caught in fences, causing litter in rural areas.

They also suggested that the empty bags can be repurposed for other farm duties, such as storing peat and tools or cutting them up to make lamb coats.

Product development

Many different prototypes of the ReBag stand were tested before the TY mini company settled on the perfect one.

The students noted that early prototypes were adjusted to improve both the product's safety and cost-efficiency, which included tweaks such as removing unnecessary components and smoothing sharp edges around the base of the stand.

To make the product, the group are sourcing steel from their local ProWeld store, while another Our Lady's Bower pupil is helping the girls weld the steel together.

Once welding is finished, the GreenYard team perform the finishing touches by painting all the ReBag stands before they are sold to customers, with the product currently available to purchase for €49.99.

Student Enterprise National final

Following GreenYard's victory at the Westmeath Student Enterprise final last month, the girls said that progressing to the national competition has given them confidence in their idea.

"It was very reassuring. It showed us that our idea could be successful," one of the students told Agriland.

The Student Enterprise Programme national awards will take place on May 7 in Mullingar Park Hotel, where the group from Our Lady's Bower will represent Westmeath alongside other student enterprises from across the country.

The ReBag stand is available to order on the GreenYard's website, details of which can be found on their Facebook and Instagram pages.