Woman who worked as dairy and drystock advisor in Tipperary appointed to new role

A new Regional Advisory Manager has been appointed in the Teagasc Laois, Kildare and Offaly advisory region.

The appointment of Sandra Hayes was approved at the Teagasc Authority meeting on Wednesday last, June 4.

Sandra Hayes will lead the Teagasc team delivering advisory services to farmers and educational courses in the regional offices in counties Laois, Kildare and Offaly.

She graduated from University College Dublin with a Degree in Agricultural Science, with a major in animal and crop production.

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She currently co-ordinates the Teagasc/Tirlán Future Farm Joint Programme based in the Teagasc Kilkenny/Waterford advisory region.

She is working closely with 11 dairy farmers in that programme, demonstrating best practices to a cohort of over 4,500 Tirlán suppliers across 12 counties.

Previously, Sandra worked as a Business and Technology Dairy Advisor in county Tipperary, where she facilitated five dairy discussion groups. Before that she worked as Business and Technology Drystock advisor in the same region.

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In her early career, Sandra was a REPS planner based in Teagasc County Laois, working with farmers to develop environmental plans for their farms. Before joining Teagasc, Sandra was manager of Mid Tipperary FRS, Ltd.

Head of the Teagasc Advisory Service, Thomas Curran congratulated Sandra on her appointment, saying: “I look forward to working with Sandra as part of the management team in the Advisory programme. She has a strong track record working for Teagasc over 24 years and will lead the delivery of both a strong technical and scheme support service in Laois, Kildare and Offaly, helping farmers to develop their farm businesses into the future.”

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Speaking following her appointment Sandra Hayes said: “I want to work with the farmers in this region to produce quality food in an economic and environmentally sustainable way. I am really looking forward to taking on this management role in Teagasc and working closely with all the staff in the region to deliver an excellent service to farmers.”

The Teagasc Advisory Programme is now managed in 13 regions. Sandra Hayes takes up this management position in the Laois/Kildare/Offaly Advisory Region. Tom Kellegher is Manager of the Westmeath/Cavan/Monaghan Advisory Region, while David Colbourne manages the Meath/Louth/Dublin Advisory Region.