Dr Francis Kearney is moving from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation to VistaMilk to take up the role of CEO. The new €40m research centre in Moorepark, Co Cork, is funded by industry, Science Foundation Ireland and the Department of Agriculture.

Francis will take up the role in the coming months and will be based at Teagasc Moorepark where he will support Professor Donagh Berry, director of VistaMilk.

Leadership

“Hailing from a dairy farming background in north Kerry, coupled with almost 20 years’ experience in applied data analytics and project management, Francis will undoubtedly bring great leadership and act as a fantastic champion for the exciting VistaMilk initiative,” Berry said.

Kearney said he is “looking forward to supporting the scientists and the industry partners to ensure VistaMilk can capitalise on the opportunities and help overcome the challenges that will be presented to the dairy industry in the future”.

Vistamilk is a consortium of Teagasc; Tyndall National Institute, Ireland’s national microelectronics institute; Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) at Waterford Institute of Technology; and Insight Centre for Data Analytics (at UCD, NUIG, DCU), and ICBF.

New €40m research centre to lead the fourth farming revolution

Dr Francis Kearney appointed CEO of VistaMilk

VistaMilk is a new research centre, hosted by Teagasc Moorepark, which aims to assist the Irish dairy industry to be a world leader in research for precision, pasture-based dairying.