As a self-proclaimed “townie” from Mullingar, Finola McCoy jokes that she became the “black sheep” of the family when she decided to study veterinary medicine at UCD.

After spending 11 years working in mixed practices in Ireland, the UK and New Zealand – completing a masters in livestock health and production along the way – Finola went on to join the Teagasc research team in Moorepark in 2008 as mastitis research officer, before commencing her current role as Programme Manager for CellCheck, the national mastitis control programme, which is co-ordinated and facilitated by Animal Health Ireland (AHI). Finola was also awarded a Nuffield Scholarship in 2014 to study building strong professional networks among rural service providers, and is a founding member of Ceres, the women in agribusiness leadership network.

She lives in Thurles, Co Tipperary with her partner and one-year-old daughter.

1 The first thing I look at on my phone in the morning is… the time. I normally get up at around 7.30am, but I also have a one-year-old, Dearbhla, so it’s not usually under my control.

2 When I was young, I wanted to grow up to be… a vet. I honestly don’t know why. A few years ago, I found a copybook from first class in school and even at that stage, I wanted to be a vet. I would have spent a lot of my teenage years at the local vet clinic, probably being a pain in their butt! But there was nothing else I really ever considered.

3 My first job was… working as a kitchen hand in a residential Irish college during the summers. Lots of mince meat, huge pots of potatoes and soup – I loved it. There was always great camaraderie in the kitchen when you’re cooking for a couple hundred students. And it was all through Irish.

4 The reason I became a vet was… I always loved being outdoors, working with animals and particularly working with farmers.

5 My day-to-day role with AHI could involve… developing or delivering training or educational modules, writing technical articles or papers, working with regulators to try and use science to help inform policy changes or with stakeholders to influence behavioral change at farm level and the industry. Collecting data on national performance and analysing that to measure progress is a big part of what I do as well.

6 If I was to pick one achievement I’m most proud of from CellCheck, it would be… the Milking For Quality awards. They go to the 500 farmers every year that have the best somatic cell count for the previous year based on their co-op data. It’s just the opportunity to recognise excellence in people that have probably been doing this for a long time and it’s never necessarily been celebrated before and there’s such pride. A lot of these people very often describe themselves as “just ordinary farmers”. I’m also very proud of the AHI team, because it’s not just my efforts; without everybody being part of it, it wouldn’t happen.

7 If I was to share just one lesson from my Nuffield Scholarship with farmers, it would be… if a farmer has several types of advisers – whether it’s their animal health adviser, or their grass adviser or their financial adviser – maybe one afternoon have them all around for a cup of tea and introduce them. That just starts the conversation and these people will find what they have in common and start working together and ultimately give the farmer a better service.

8 I believe the biggest challenge facing agriculture in 2019 is… the perception of agriculture; whether that’s the perception of the role that it plays in environmental change, whether it’s the perception in terms of animal welfare and farming systems… not necessarily based on evidence or quality information. I wonder is there a way that we can be more proactive or ahead of that challenge rather than waiting for it to hit us?

9 I believe the biggest opportunity for agriculture in 2019 is… the potential to actually sell ourselves; and to use science to do it. I do think there is a need for it and a role for it in terms of justifying and defending what we do and what we do very well. For example, we have a lot of statistics around our animal health status that are very relevant and very important.

10 The best advice I ever got when it came to my career was… enjoy what you do. I think it was a vet named Fintan Cooney, who was probably the most patient man I ever knew.

11 The person who inspires me most is… Joanne O’Riordan from Cork. Somebody who just demonstrates such great capability and a sense of humour and that to me is really important. Not just a positive outlook; but with a streak of devilment!

12 The app I use most on my phone is… the Irish Rail app. I try and “train” as much as I can. And I don’t mean on an exercise front. I also use the Dublin Bike app when I’m up in Dublin for meetings.

13 The best book I ever read was… Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese, a novel set between Ethiopia and America. It was just such a fascinating story, very unpredictable. But it was good timing because I read it not long after I had been to Ethiopia, so a lot of the places resonated with me.

14 The book I never finished was… I can’t remember. I think I’m too stubborn not to finish a book.

15 Five things you will always find in my handbag are… my contact lenses, my phone, my wallet, hand cream and my trusty notebook.

16 My quick-fix midweek dinner is… an omelette with the kitchen sink thrown in.

17 My get up and go song is… Another One Bites The Dust by Queen.

18 When I want to switch off, I… sew. Clothes, crafts, anything at all. You have to concentrate or you’ll mess it up!

19 A skill/hobby I would love to master is… I would love to be able to sing. In tune!

20 One thing most people don’t know about me is… I waved at you from the top of Kilimanjaro! I climbed it in 2004. As an experience, it was incredible. Cold, but incredible.