Teagasc appoint new Head of Animal and Grassland Programme
Teagasc has appointed Dr Laurence Shalloo as Head of the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation programme. The Teagasc Authority approved the appointment at its meeting today, Wednesday 2 March 2022.
The Animal & Grassland, Research and Innovation programme is one of the four research programmes in Teagasc, and covers the organisation’s dairy, beef, sheep, pigs, animal bioscience and grassland research in a single programme. This research work is carried out across a number of locations including Athenry, Grange and Moorepark, along with grass breeding in Oak Park. The Teagasc Knowledge transfer specialists in the respective enterprise areas are also part of the programme, ensuring a seamless flow of research outputs to the advisory service and out to farmer.
The Teagasc Director, Professor Frank O Mara congratulated Laurence on his appointment. He said; “Teagasc science is helping farmers and the agri food industry position itself to meet the challenges ahead, as the sector adapts to new situations. Laurence’s experience and strong research track record in animal based farming systems, combined with his work on climate change mitigation, and his role as Deputy Director of VistaMilk, equip him well to lead this important Teagasc programme. Laurence has been playing a key role in the development of the A+B-C system of milk payment to Ireland, and is also widely recognised and respected due to his work in developing the EBI, Pasture Profit Index, PastureBase Ireland, and the national Carbon audit system used on Irish dairy farms.”
Dr Laurence Shalloo graduated from University College Dublin with a first class honours degree in Agricultural Science in 1999, and he went on to complete his PhD in 2004 on the development and use of the Moorepark Dairy Systems Model to analyse institutional and technical changes in dairy farming. He joined the research staff at Moorepark in 2004, and is currently a Senior Principal Research Officer. Laurence is also Deputy Director of the SFI/DAFM-funded VistaMilk Research Centre and is an Adjunct Professor at UCC.
Reporting to Professor Pat Dillon, Director of Research in Teagasc, Laurence Shalloo will provide leadership, strategic management and direction for the organisation’s research platforms to support Irish animal production systems. Priorities for the next 5 years will be increasing the sustainability of Irish livestock production systems. Challenges exist in relation to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving water quality, enhancing biodiversity on farms while at the same time improving the living standards of practicing farmers. These challenges will be best addressed through optimising Ireland’s advantage in grass-based systems of animal production.