Soil, plant, animal nutrition, and sustainable fertiliser business, Grassland Agro has announced this week that Liam Woulfe will step down from his position as managing director of the company at the end of the year.
Woulfe has led the business for the past 22 years, after his Freshgrass Group first acquired Grassland Fertilisers in 2002 from Greencore.
The Limerick-native informed staff at Grassland Agro this week that he will step down from his position as managing director at the end of December to facilitate the evolution of the leadership at the company.
Enda McDonald, who currently serves as group sales manager for the company, will take over as general manager of Grassland Agro from January 2025, having first joined the business more than a decade ago in 2010 as a regional sales manager.
Changes for Grassland Agro
As part of the leadership transition, Liam Woulfe will continue to support Enda and the wider Grassland Agro team on a full-time basis until the end of March 2025, according to the company.
After that he will assume a senior advisor role and continue as a director of the company.
Woulfe started his career in the agri-business industry more than four decades ago working for dairy companies such as Aurivo, Golden Vale and Kerry Group until he opted to lead Grassland Fertilizers.
In 2013, he negotiated a joint venture (JV) between Grassland Fertiliser and Timac Agro Ireland, a subsidiary of the French agri supplies, research and technology business Groupe Roullier, to form Grassland Agro.
The JV deal created one of the largest fertiliser suppliers in Ireland, which today is significantly focused on sustainability and agronomy services and products, according to the company, while at the same time holding its position in the traditional fertiliser sector.
Grassland Agro’s staff count has increased from 54 staff in 2012 to more than 150 today.
Woulfe will remain active in the agri-food industry, continuing in his role as executive chairman of his Freshgrass Holdings Group, which holds a 50% stake in Drummonds Agribusiness as part of a JV partnership with Fane Valley Co-op.
Alongside this, Woulfe will continue to hold a number of other non-executive director roles such as director and chair of the Agricultural Trust, non-executive director at Teagasc, and chair of Drummonds Agribusiness, in addition to a number of others board positions.
Commenting on his retirement as managing director of Grassland Agro, Liam Woulfe, said:
“The past 22 years managing Grassland Agro and overseeing its growth and success has been hugely satisfying.
“Over that time, Grassland Agro has evolved from a traditional fertiliser provider into a multifaceted agri-business that provides crucial sustainability and agronomy services to the Irish farming industry.
“But now the time has come for me to hand over the baton. I want to wish Enda McDonald, his management team and all the staff at Grassland Agro every success for the future.
“I will continue to remain involved in the Irish agri-business sector through a number of board directorships that I hold, and I look forward to seeing the industry continue to adapt and evolve to meet the sustainability challenge,” he concluded.