I’m told that John Heslin, the suckler and beef research officer in Teagasc Grange, is leaving to take up a new role with MSD Animal Health Ireland.

The Westmeath senior footballer is to become marketing manager of the ruminant division of MSD, filling the vacancy left by William Minchin, who became director of MSD’s ruminant business unit in January.

And I see that sheep specialist Frank Hynes is taking a career break from Teagasc to start his own business, Job Changer. It will help people who are unhappy in their current job to change in careers or set different goals and achieve more from their current role.

On a more positive note for Teagasc, David Kenny, its principal research scientist in ruminant nutritional physiology, was awarded the British Society of Animal Science’s Sir John Hammond award last week.

The Mayo professor is currently leading a €1.2m Department of Agriculture-funded project about reproductive function in beef cows and heifers, and recently began a €1.9m Science Foundation project about the control of puberty and semen quality in bulls.

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