Background 

Teagasc have a large research programme on dairy-beef production which is focused on improving production efficiency and profitability of dairy calf-to-beef systems. There continues to be opportunities to further innovate within these farm systems studies in the context of evolving economic (low farm incomes, market volatility, etc.), environmental (biodiversity decline, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate stresses, etc.), and societal (e.g. perceptions of animal welfare) challenges for dairy-beef farms. 

Better-Calf (Dairy calf systems for resilience, welfare and sustainability in rural territories) is a multi-jurisdictional EU-funded (Interreg North-West Europe) project which aims, through a combination of experimental farm studies, farm systems simulation, farmer focus groups and multi-stakeholder groups, to design, test and deploy innovations in grass-based dairy-beef systems. The project brings together partners from six European countries where dairy-beef systems are at different stages of development to develop and test dairy-beef systems under a range of the soil and climatic conditions which prevail in north-west Europe. The transnational project led by Teagasc permits the involvement of a large number of partners according to their expertise. 

 

Basic function of this role 

We wish to recruit a dynamic and suitably qualified contract research scientist to support the Better-Calf project with particular focus on: assembling and managing data related to dairy-beef systems; detailed analysis of the economic, environmental and social aspects of dairy-beef systems; supporting the running of Better-Calf events, and assisting with the overall management of the project. There will be opportunities to acquire new skills, continued professional development and for travel to conferences and project meetings within the duration of the role.  

 

Requirements 

Candidates must have a QQI honours Level 8 degree in Agricultural Science, Environmental Science or a related discipline. Postgraduate Research experience in animal science, greenhouse gas emissions mitigation or farm systems analysis would be a distinct advantage. 

 

Award details 

This 42-month position offers a Research Officer salary scale of €41,580 to €78,830 per year. The researcher will be based at Teagasc Grange, County Meath, C15 PW93, Ireland