Vanessa Kiely O’Connor has been appointed to the board of Teagasc. Vanessa was nominated by ICOS to replace Pat Duffy as the ICOS board representative. Vanessa is a dairy farmer from Innishannon, County Cork. She graduated with a Diploma in Corporate Direction (Food Business) from the UCC/ICOS programme, and also holds a Diploma in Environmental Science and Social Policy, from UCC. She is a board member of Bandon Co-operative and also serves on the board of Clona Dairy Products.

She is a member of the Women in Agriculture Stakeholder Group and serves on the ICMSA’s Farm Business committee.  Vanessa has won numerous farm awards in quality and sustainability.  Macra na Feirme President, Elaine Houlihan, was also appointed to the Teagasc board.

Speaking at a meeting of the Teagasc Authority in Oak Park on Wednesday, 4 October, Liam Herlihy, Chairman of Teagasc, welcomed Vanessa and Elaine to the Authority saying; “I look forward to working with Vanessa and Elaine over the coming years. They bring important skills, knowledge and expertise to the Authority, which will assist the deliberations of the Teagasc board in the years ahead.”

Liam Herlihy thanked Pat Duffy and John Buckley who have completed their terms on the Teagasc Authority. He said; “On behalf of the members of the Authority, management and staff, I thank Pat and John for their excellent contributions to Teagasc while serving as members of the Authority”.

ICOS congratulates Vanessa and wishes her well for her term.