Lorraine Balaine

Research Officer - Climate Centre

Research Interests

Lorraine is an agri-environmental economist based in Teagasc Athenry. She focuses on the issues of sustainability and climate change in farming. She has particular interest in using economic analysis and multi-disciplinary research to reconcile the three sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental and social) and inform farmers’ technology adoption decisions and public policy.

Current Projects

Climate change research:

2024-2028: Exploring the concepts of resilience, adaptive capacity and vulnerability to climate change on Irish farms: Implications for farm sustainability and mitigation capacity. Funded by Teagasc. PI.

2024: Research on farm-level behavioural change towards building climate change resilience. Funded by the Climate Change Advisory Council through the Environmental Protection Agency. Task leader.

Sustainability research:

2024-2028: Step up - Sustainable Livestock Systems Transition and Evidence Platform for Upgrading Policies. Funded by Horizon Europe. Task leader.

2022-2025: DairyMix - Multi-criteria assessment, decision support and management tools for sustainable circular mixed farming systems for dairy production. Funded by the ERA-NET Cofund through DAFM. Task leader.

Education

2017-2021: PhD in Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway
2015-2016: MSc Economics of Agricultural Development, the Environment and Food (EcoDEVA), Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier and CIHEAM-IAMM (France)
2012-2016: Diploma of Agricultural Engineering - Montpellier SupAgro (France)

Appointments

2022 - present: Honorary Secretary of the Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland

Publications

View Lorraine's full list of publications in her profile on:

ORCID | Google Scholar

Selected Publications

Burrell, A.M., Balaine, L., Clifford, S., McGrath, M., Graham, D.A., McCoy, F., Dillon, E. and Regan, Á., 2024. A multi-methods, multi-actor exploration of the benefits and barriers to milk recording on Irish farms using the COM-B model. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 227, p.106195. .

Balaine, L., Buckley, C., Baillet, V., de Otálora, X.D., Dragoni, F., Wilfart, A., Amon, B., del Prado, A., Frątczak-Müller, J. and Krol, D., 2024. Influence of methodological choices in farm sustainability assessments: A word of caution from a case study analysis of European dairy farms. Environmental Science & Policy, 156, p.103745. .

Balaine, L., Läpple, D., Dillon, E.J. and Buckley, C., 2023. Extension and management pathways for enhanced farm sustainability: evidence from Irish dairy farms. European review of agricultural economics, 50(2), pp.810-850. .

Balaine, L., Läpple, D., Buckley, C. and Dillon, E., 2022. Reconciling Socio‐economic and Environmental Sustainability in Agri‐food Development: A Critical Appraisal of Irish Strategies. EuroChoices, 21(2), pp.52-57. .

Balaine, L., Gallai, N., Del Corso, J.P. and Kephaliacos, C., 2020. Trading off environmental goods for compensations: Insights from traditional and deliberative valuation methods in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ecosystem services, 43, p.101110.