The role of diverse pastures in future proofing livestock sustainability
Tracks
Ground Floor Conference Room
| Tuesday, April 9, 2024 |
| 11:45 AM - 1:15 PM |
| Ground Floor Conference Room |
Overview
Sponsored by British Grassland Society & Stapledon Memorial Trust
Details
The role of diverse pastures in future proofing livestock sustainability is discussed across two consecutive sessions. These sessions focus on the increasing body of work investigating the potential and role of more diverse pastures to enhance the environmental credentials of pasture based livestock production systems. The requirement for two sessions highlights the volume of research underway to address this topic. In the first of two sessions Prof. Helen Sheridan of UCD will present the latest research activity pertaining to the implementation of multispecies swards under livestock grazing systems from her team within the School of Agriculture and Food Science. Prof. Sheridan is a leading expert and practitioner of multispecies sward research and will discuss impacts on sward and animal performance in additional to highlighting potential impacts on a wide range of ecosystems services. This will be followed by a series of six offer papers addressing a range of topics as diverse as the pastures themselves, including animal performance metrics, animal health and behaviour and environmental impacts spanning enteric methane emissions and nitrogen excreting.
Session Sponsor & Speakers
Session Sponsored by Stapledon Memorial Trust
Session Sponsored by British Grassland Society
Dr Helen Sheridan
Associate ProfessorSchool of Agriculture and Food Science
University College Dublin
Enhancing the sustainability of ruminant livestock systems through multispecies swards
11:45 AM - 12:15 PM
Dr Helen Sheridan is an Associate Professor in the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin.
While now living in Dublin, Helen is from a drystock farm in County Longford and qualified with a BAgrSc, Degree in Agricultural Science (Agri-Environmental Science) from University College Dublin. She also has a PhD in Agricultural Ecology from University College Dublin, which she completed as a Walsh Fellow based at Teagasc Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, County Wexford. Helen lectures in Farm Landscape Ecology and Agri-Environmental Policy and is Programme Director of the BAgrSc Agri-Environmental Sciences.
Helen is passionate about enhancing the sustainability of livestock production systems and has been conducting research on multispecies swards at UCD Lyons Farm for over a decade. Her research also focuses on farmland biodiversity, farmland habitats and agri-environment scheme measures.
Ms Rachel Connolly
Phd Candidate
University College Dublin
Miss Nicole Henry
Phd Student
Queen's University Belfast
M Alann Jezequel
PhD
Teagasc
Dr Conor Holohan
Senior Research Scientist
Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute
Dr Xianjiang Chen
Higher Scientific Officer
Agri-food & Biosciences Institute
Dr Aimee-louise Craig
HSO
Afbi
Chair
Tommy Boland
Prof Of Ruminant Nutrition
UCD
