Teagasc has confirmed the appointment of Dr. Joe Patton as the new head of its Dairy Knowledge Transfer (KT) Department.
Dr. Patton was appointed to the role earlier in the summer to replace Tom O’Dwyer. He will now lead a team of dairy specialists within Teagasc.
Dr. Patton will be at the dairy open day next week in Teagasc Moorepark, where he intends to meet and engage with farmers on issues and challenges in the dairy sector.
Speaking in advance of the Moorepark ’21 Open Day, he said: “The last decade has fundamentally changed the dairy industry in terms of its farm management practices; its relationship with other agri-sectors; and its place in the wider economy and society.
“My priority for the Teagasc Dairy KT team will be the integration of environmental, social and economic sustainability into a strong technical programme. We will work closely with colleagues and industry partners to help develop sustainable dairy-beef initiatives,” Dr. Patton added.
He went on: “We also plan to enhance our decision-support capabilities around grass-based nutrition, farm finance, animal health and welfare.”
Dr. Patton graduated from University College Dublin (UCD) with a degree in agricultural science in 2002. His research PhD was on ‘Influence of nutrition and energy balance on the reproductive function in dairy cattle’ – which he completed between Teagasc and UCD.
He began his career with Teagasc in 2006 with a contract research post in the area of dairy herd nutrition. In 2009, he took up a role as a dairy specialist for winter milk production in Teagasc, based at Grange.
He also took on responsibility for the Teagasc winter milk systems project based at Johnstown Castle. In 2020, he moved to the position of ruminant nutrition specialist in the organisation, having previously taken a leading role in helping formulate the Teagasc position in relation to managing responses to severe weather impacts in 2018.
Prof. Pat Dillon, head of Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation programme, welcomed Dr. Patton to the role, saying: “Joe will be taking a leading role in shaping the Teagasc dairy programme at this time of emerging challenges for the industry.”