September 1-2

Teagasc FoodResearch Centre,Ashtown,Dublin 15

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

SMART TECHNOLOGIESFOR SUSTAINABLEGLOBAL FOOD SECURITYFORUM

Sept 1-2, 2016

DAY ONE Thurs. 1st September - Plants, Crops and Soils

Chair of morning Plenary session: Professor Gerry Boyle,Director, TeagascChair of afternoon Plenary session: Dr Jerry Hatfield, USDA-ARS, Director of Midwest Climate Hub

08:00 – 08:30 Arrive for coffee

08:30 – 08:45 Welcome / introduction by Professor Gerry Boyle, Director ofTeagasc and Professor Trevor Gilliland, Head of SustainableAgricultural Branch, AFBI

08:45 – 09:10 Plenary Paper 1: Smart Tools to aid Sustainable CropProduction

Dr Jerry Hatfield, USDA

Scope: Sustainable and precision crop production dependsupon the integration of the genetic x environment xmanagement components as part of a decision process. Thegoal is to maximize the performance of the geneticcomponent through improved management practices thataccount for environmental variation. These smart tools rangefrom improved genetics to cope with climate stress, precisionapplication of nutrients, diverse crop rotations,understanding the effects of biotic and abiotic factors, andevaluation of the factors limiting yield to reduce the yieldgaps. These tools require the integration of soil and plantinteractions coupled with an understanding of the impact ofincreased climate variation. The outcome of the developmentof smart tools will be a stabilization of production andincrease in production efficiency.

09:10 – 09:15 Q&A

09:15 – 09:40 Plenary Paper 2: Soil-Plant Microbiomes / Soil-Plantinteraction

Dr Fiona Brennan, NUI Galway

Scope: SOIL MICROBIOMES: Knowledge gaps and strategicresearch needs for increasing crop productivity.�DNAsequencing technologies have opened a new window into soil

Conference Itinerary

microbiomes that potentially can lead to a dramatic increasein crop yields and reduce the impacts of crop production onthe environment. Just as soil microbiome composition caninfluence plant productivity and plant health, plantsinfluence soil microbiome composition and functions.However, the rules and principles that underlie theseinteractions are not yet known. Three fundamental questionswill be addressed in this session: (1) How does the soilmicrobiome influence crop productivity? (2) How does themicrobiome influence crop responses to abiotic stress andpathogens in the field? (3) How do crop managementstrategies affect soil microbiome composition and functions?

09:40 – 09:45 Q&A

09:45 – 11:00 First TWO Workshops — delegates should please pre-registervia web link to ensure workshops of their choice

Workshop 1 - Smart Tools to aid Sustainable Crop Production.Workshop Chair: Dr. Denis Petitclerc, Director-GeneralScience and Technology, AAFC

Workshop 2 - Soil-Plant Microbiomes / Soil-Plant interaction.Workshop Chair, Dr. Dan Roberts, Research LeaderSustainable Ag Systems, USDA-ARS

Workshop Chairpersons to have the floor with whiteboard /flip chart for brainstorming + offer a final 15 minute summaryof discussion within the workshop highlighting consensuson; a] 3 x Prime Topics / Themes for Transatlanticcollaboration b] Names of Scientists / Organisationsidentifying any of the topics / themes of sufficient interest topursue discussions thereafter c] What the applied scientificcollaborations would seek to produce in terms of tangible,beneficial outcomes.

11:00 – 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 – 11:30 Workshop Chair 1, Dr Denis Petitclerc, outlines in PlenarySession the top 3 identified and agreed topics of seriousinterest for potential collaboration, together with theintended tangible outcomes each could yield, plus name[s]of “lead contact[s]’’.

11:30 – 11:45 Workshop Chair 2, Dr Dan Roberts, outlines in PlenarySession the 3 identified topics of serious interest for potentialcollaboration, together with the intended tangible outcomeseach could yield, plus name[s] of “lead contact[s]”.

Sept 1-2, 2016

11:45 – 12:00 Industry representative Andy Doyle, Tillage Editor at IrishFarmers Journal comments on Industry relevance of materialthis morning / industry priorities

12:00 – 12:10 Q&A From Floor

12:10 – 12:30 *** Special Plenary Paper by Professor Nils Toft, TechnicalUniversity of DenmarkOverview, citing DANMAP, of Denmark’s experience sincesignificantly reducing Anti-Microbial use in LivestockProduction over the previous 20 years.

12:30 – 13:30 LUNCH

13:30 – 13:50 Plenary Paper 3: AMR — Anti-Microbial resistance, Animalproduction resistance

Dr Ed Topp, AAFC Canada

Scope: This session will examine how we could work togetherto minimise the development of AMR and tackle the challengeof its transmission by following a ‘One Health Approach’,using tools such as genomics, improved diagnostics, morefocused targeting for anti-microbial use and alternatives toanti-microbials. The ultimate goal would be to foster multi-institutional and multinational research collaborations toimprove the control of antimicrobial resistance as it relates tohuman health, livestock, the food chain and theenvironment.

13:50 – 14:00 Q&A on both AMR papers

14:00 – 14:20 Plenary Paper 4: Soil Testing and Soil Analysis utilising SmartTechnology tools

Dr Karen Daly, Teagasc

Scope: Optimising soil fertility through prediction of soilnutrient availability and supplementation with organic andinorganic fertiliser to meet crop demand is a primaryobjective for all farmers. The spatial and temporal predictionof both soil nutrient supply and crop demand has beenelusive with varying degrees of success. In Ireland nationalsoil testing continues to highlight that 90% of soils, at the field

scale, are agronomically sub optimal. Advances in soil testingsuch as infrared spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction and thedevelopment of low cost sensors are being investigated forimproved soil fertility and soil quality measurement at finerspatial and temporal scales. The coupling of these techniqueswith crop nutrient demand will enable fertilisation strategiesto be provided to farmers using smart tools to optimise theirfarming systems.

14:20 – 14:25 Q&A

14:25 – 15:40 Second TWO Workshops — delegates should please pre-register via web link to ensure workshops of their choice

Workshop 3 - AMR — Anti-Microbial resistance, Animalproduction resistance. Workshop Chair: Mr Joe O’Flaherty,CEO, Animal Health Ireland

Workshop 4 - Soil Testing and Soil Analysis. Workshop Chair: Dr. Stan Lalor, Business Manager, GrasslandAGRO

Workshop Chairs to have the floor with whiteboard / flipchart for brainstorming + a final 15 minute summary ofdiscussion within the workshop highlighting consensus on;a] 3 x Key Topics / Themes for Transatlantic collaboration b]Names of “lead scientist[s] / organisation[s] identifying any ofthe topics / themes of sufficient interest for post Forumdiscussions c] What the applied scientific collaborationswould seek to produce in terms of tangible, beneficialoutcomes.

15:40 – 15:55 Coffee Break

15:55 – 16:10 Workshop Chair 3 Mr Joe O’Flaherty, outlines in PlenarySession the 3 identified topics of serious enough interest towarrant post Forum discussion with a view to Transatlanticcollaboration, together with the intended tangible outcomeseach could yield, plus address Q&A / comments from thefloor.

16:10 – 16:25 Workshop Chair 4, Dr Stan Lalor as above, plus Q&A /comments

16:25 – 16:45 Industry representatives 1 & 2 as above both comment fromstage individually on Industry relevance of material / theirrespective industry priorities, with reference to examples ofprojects they have recently funded , plus Q&A / comments

Sept 1-2, 2016

16:45 – 17:00 Closing Summary by Dr Jerry Hatfield, USDA-ARS,highlighting the major thematic opportunities forTransatlantic collaboration with Ref to Day 2 tomorrow.

19:30 – 21:30 Dinner at Castleknock HotelDress code smart-casual Pre-registration via programme link essential

DAY TWO Friday, September 2nd 2016: Animal Health /Animal Production

Chair of morning Plenary session: Dr David Bailey, CEO,Genome AlbertaChair of afternoon Plenary session: Professor Louise Cosby,Head of Virology, AFBI

07:30 – 08:00 Arrive for Coffee

08:00 – 08:15 Welcome / introduction by Dr. Frank O’Mara, Teagasc andProfessor Trevor Gilliland, AFBI

08:15 – 08:40 Teagasc Presentation — Technology Foresight 2030 —Identifying opportunities for key technologies with thepotential to underpin future sustainable food production

Dr. Frank O’Mara, Director of Research, Teagasc

08:40 – 08:45 Q&A

08:45 – 09:05 Plenary Paper 1: Nutrient Management Technologies

Dr Gary Lyons, AFBI

Scope: Technologies for P&N extraction from manures anddigestives / manure as a fuel with extraction of nutrients fromexhaust gasses, ash and other bi-products / technologies forvolume reduction of manure for storage / sustainable use ofmanures as biofertiliser/ Technologies for nutrientconcentration from manures and digestives and theirproductive use / Spatial targeting and use of remote sensors /technologies for producing value - added and marketableproduct from manures and digestates / techniques foroptimising biofertiliser value of manures and digestives.

09:05 – 09:10 Q&A

09:10 – 09:30 Plenary Paper 2: Animal Breeding for Feed Efficiency,improved Animal Health, improved productivity

Dr Filippo Miglior, Canadian Dairy Network / University ofGuelph, Canada

Scope: Recent advances in animal breeding and genomics ----�Animal breeding has advanced greatly thought theapplication of genomic selection, particularly in dairy cows.This session will explore the current state of the art in theapplication of genomics in animal breeding, includinggenomics for beef cattle breeding and multi-breed genomicselection. It will examine how difficult to measure traits suchas health and feed efficiency can be phenotyped at low costand in large numbers (including by use of precisionagricultural technologies) to allow incorporation into animalbreeding programmes. It will also explore applications ofgenomic tools outside of breeding programmes and how toachieve widespread adoption by farmers of genomictechnologies.

09:30 – 09:35 Q&A

09:35 – 09:55 Plenary Paper 3: Minimising the impact of Climate Change,biotic and abiotic stress through the use of SmartTechnologies

Professor JR Rao, AFBI

Scope: Meeting the challenges resulting from the complexinteraction between climate change and agriculture will berequired if we are going to feed the world's projected futurepopulation; from the influence of agriculture on climatechange through carbon sequestration and the evolution ofgreenhouse gases (nitrous oxide, methane, ammonia) andfrom the influence of climate change on food productionthrough altered weather patterns (drought, increasedtemperature, pests and pathogens). How Smart Technologiescan mitigate.

09:55 – 10:00 Q&A

10:00 – 10:15 Coffee Break

Sept 1-2, 2016

10:15 – 11:30 First THREE Workshops of the Day — delegates should pleasepre-register via web link to ensure workshops of their choice

Workshop 1 - Nutrient Management Technologies. WorkshopChair: Mr Thomas Cromie, Director of agriAD Ltd

Workshop 2 - Animal Breeding for Feed Efficiency. Workshop Chair: Mr Sean Coughlan, CEO, Irish CattleBreeding Federation

Workshop 3 - Minimising the impact of Climate Change,biotic and abiotic stress through the use of SmartTechnologies. Workshop Chair: Dr Cindy Bell, VP GenomeCanada

Workshop Chairs to have the floor with whiteboard / flip chartfor brainstorming + a final 15 minute summary of discussion,highlighting a] 3 x Key Topics / Themes for Transatlanticcollaboration b ] Names of Scientists / Organisationsidentifying any of the topics / themes of sufficient interest topursue discussions c] What the applied scientificcollaborations would seek to produce in terms of tangible,beneficial outcomes.

11:45 – 11:55 Workshop Chair 1 Mr Thomas Cromie - outlines in PlenarySession the 3 identified topics of serious interest togetherwith the intended tangible outcomes each could yield, plus“lead contact[s]”.

11:55 – 12:05 Workshop Chair 2, Mr Sean Coughlan — outlines as above

12:05 – 12:15 Workshop Chair 3, Dr Cindy Bell, outlines as above

12:15 – 12:30 Industry representatives 1 & 2 comment on Industryrelevance of material / their industry priorities, with referenceto examples of projects they have recently funded

12:30 – 13:00 Brown Bag Lunch

13:00 – 13:20 Plenary Paper 4: Smart Animal Technologies

Dr Laurence Shalloo, Teagasc

Scope: There is a need for enhanced sensor technologies,

novel real time communication systems with long lastingbattery power and new analytical procedures that will allowincreased precision around animal health, feeding andfertility. The key focus should center around reducing losses,increasing efficiency and productivity through providing realtime animal health diagnostics, lameness detectors, milkquality sensors and animal activity sensors.

13:20 – 13:25 Q&A

13:25 – 13:45 Plenary Paper 5: Forage —Forage/Sustainable Production

Dr Mark Boggess, USDA

Scope: Development and adoption of informed “smart”technologies and management systems that optimize forageyield and quality in integrated animal production systemswhile maximizing forage persistence, soil ecology and waterquality; including the development of improved forage grass-legume varieties and management systems which reduce Nfertilizer while increasing animal performance on grazedforages.

13:45 – 13:50 Q&A

13:50 – 15:05 Second TWO Workshops of the Day — delegates shouldplease pre-register via web link to ensure workshops of theirchoice

Workshop 4 - Smart Animal Technologies. Workshop Chair:Mr Richard Kennedy, Group CEO, Devenish Nutrition

Workshop 5 - Forage —Forage/Sustainable Production.Workshop Chair: Professor Trevor Gilliland, Head ofAgriculture Branch, AFBI

Workshop Chairs to have the floor with whiteboard / flipchart for brainstorming with a final 15 minute summary ofdiscussion, highlighting a] 3 x Key Topics / Themes forTransatlantic collaboration b] Names of Scientists /Organisations identifying any of the topics / themes ofsufficient interest to pursue discussions post- forum c] Whatthe applied scientific collaborations would seek to produce interms of tangible, beneficial outcomes.

15:05 – 15:20 Coffee Break

Sept 1-2, 2016

15:20 – 15:30 Workshop Chairman 4, Mr Richard Kennedy — outlines inPlenary Session the top 3 identified topics of serious interesttogether with the intended tangible outcomes each couldyield, plus “lead contact[s]”.

15:30 – 15:40 Workshop Chairman 5, Professor Trevor Gilliland, outlines inPlenary Session the top 3 identified topics of sufficientinterest for post-forum discussion, together with the intendedtangible outcomes each could yield, plus “lead contact[s]“.

15:40 – 15:55 Industry representative, Mr Richard Kennedy - comments onIndustry relevance of material / their industry priorities today,with reference to examples of projects they have recentlyfunded

15:55 – 16:05 Questions from the Floor / suggestions from the Floor refknown Funding programmes

16:05 – 16:15 Forum Chairman Day 2 — Plenary Chair Professor LouiseCosby, AFBI - summary of the day plus closing remarks

16:15 CLOSE

SMART TECHNOLOGIES

FOR SUSTAINABLEGLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

FORUM

SpeakersDr Jerry Hatfield, USDADr. Jerry L. Hatfield is the Laboratory Director of the USDA-ARS National Laboratoryfor Agriculture and the Environment Director of the Midwest Climate Hub in Ames,Iowa, and co-PI on the Agriculture Model Improvement and Intercomparison Project.His personal research focuses on quantifying the interactions among the componentsof the soil-plant-atmosphere system to quantify resilience of cropping systems toclimate change and development of techniques to enhance decision-making foragriculture. He leads the agriculture sector for the National Climate Assessment, amember of the IPCC process that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and lead onthe agriculture indicators of climate change for the USGCRP. He is a Fellow of theAmerican Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America andPast-President of the American Society of Agronomy and member of the American Meteorological Society,American Geophysical Union and Soil and Water Conservation Society. He is the recipient of numerousawards and was elected to the ARS Hall of Fame in 2014 for his research on improving agriculture andenvironmental quality and the 2016 recipient of the Hugh Hammond Bennett award from the Soil and WaterConservation Society. He is the author or co-author of 427 refereed publications and the editor of 16monographs.

Dr Fiona Brennan, NUI GalwayFiona Brennan is a Lecturer in Microbiology within the School of Natural Sciences inthe National University of Ireland, Galway. She is the director of the Soil andEnvironmental Microbiology research group and a principal investigator in the Plantand Agricultural Biosciences Centre. She completed a BSc in Environmental Biology(University College Dublin) and a PhD in Microbiology (National University of Ireland,Galway) prior to holding soil postdoctoral research positions within Teagasc and INRA(The French National Institute for Agricultural Research). Prior to her appointment inNUI Galway she held a position as a research scientist in the James Hutton Institute,Scotland and was a core researcher in the Centre for Human and Animal Pathogensin the Environment. A key focus of her research team is on bacterial, soil and plant interactions in agronomicsystems, and on understanding how these relate to the role of functional microbial communities in soilbiogeochemical cycles and greenhouse gas emissions. Her group also investigate the fate and transport ofmicrobial enteric pathogens in the environment and microbial adaptation to environmental niches.

Prof Nils Toft, Technical University of DenmarkNils Toft did his masters in Mathematics and Economics at Odense University in 1996,followed by a PhD in decision support systems for pig production from The RoyalVeterinary and Agricultural University in 2001. Since 2001 he has been working withepidemiology in various positions. One of his key research interests has been on theuse of Bayesian methods, particularly for latent class analysis of diagnostic testsevaluation studies.However also more general approaches to working with data withmisclassification for decision making, has gain his interest. Sine 2013 he has been aProfessor in Epidemiology at Technical University of Denmark. Here his work is mostlyfocused on data driven modelling and decision support using register data from Danishlivestock production. In particular he works on quantitative methods for antimicrobial resistance and MRSAcontrol.

Dr Ed Topp, AAFC CanadaEd is a native of Montréal; he received his PhD from the Department of Microbiologyat the University of Minnesota in 1988. Since then Ed has toiled as a research scientistwith Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and also has adjunct appointments with theDepartment of Biology at Western University in London Ontario, and the Departmentof Soil and Water Sciences at the University of Florida. Ed leads several nationalstudies that seek to better understand and to better manage the risks that foodproduction practices pose for environmental quality and human health. This with theobjective of devising means of mitigating the exposure of food and water to pathogenicand antimicrobial resistant enteric bacteria, and “emerging” organic contaminants. Edis the national coordinator for the Genomics Research and Development Initiative project on AMR, a keycomponent of the innovation pillar of the Canadian National AMR Action Plan. Ed is a former [2011] presidentof the Canadian Society of Microbiologists.

Dr Karen Daly, TeagascKaren Daly is a Research Officer within the Crops Environment and Land UseProgramme of Teagasc at Johnstown Castle Wexford. She holds a degree and MSc.in Organic Chemistry from Trinity College Dublin, and a Ph.D. in soil phosphorusdynamics in Irish grasslands (Trinity College, Dublin). Karen’s research interests rangefrom process scale mechanistic modelling that includes nutrient uptake and release,to field scale work on soil hydrology and nutrient transport, and catchment scalemonitoring and management programmes. Her published research on soil phosphoruschemistry led to revised recommendations for phosphorus management on Irishgrassland soils for agriculture. Karen has worked as project leader across a numberof large scale nationally funded projects in the area of soil chemistry, catchment scale P loss, soil qualityand environmental risk assessment. Her soil research interests include soil chemistry, soil spectroscopy,soil quality and soil mapping. Karen leads the soil spectroscopy research programme at Teagasc and thisresearch has included the development and evaluation of analytical methods for agricultural soils and cropsusing novel methods in Infra-red and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Previously Karen was anEnvironmental Chemist in the Central Laboratories of Dublin City Council with responsibilities for analysisand reporting of water quality and environmental data.

Dr Gary Lyons, AFBIGary is a Senior Scientific officer who has worked for DARD Science Service andAFBI for 26 years. He is a biological chemist with experience in biomaterials researchusing physical, chemical and biological techniques, allied to wet chemistry andinstrumental analyses. He manages AFBI’s on-farm anaerobic digestion unit, digestingcattle slurry and grass silage, to produce biomethane for renewable energy generation,and is currently involved in setting up a new facility to process slurry and digestatenutrients on the AFBI farm. He has authored and co-authored more than 40 peerreviewed scientific publications and has been involved in collaborative projects withindustry and academic institutions from the UK and Europe.

Dr Filippo MigliorFilippo, originally from Milan, Italy, moved to Guelph in 1989, and in 1994 obtainedhis PhD in Animal Breeding. He moved back to Italy where he held the positions ofR&D Manager at Italian Holstein Association, and at Livestock Farmers Associationin Rome. In 2000, Filippo returned to Canada as Research Scientist with AAFC, co-located at Canadian Dairy network as R&D Coordinator. In 2013, Filippo accepted theposition at CDN as Chief, Research and Strategic Development.

SMART TECHNOLOGIES

FOR SUSTAINABLEGLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

FORUM

Filippo is also Adjunct Associated Faculty at University of Guelph since 2004, Senior Editor for Journal ofDairy Science since 2005, Associate Editor of Canadian Journal of Animal Science since 2012, member ofseveral industry boards, current President-Elect of CSAS and Secretary of WCGALP Permanent InternationalCommittee. His responsibilities include management of all industry priority research projects supported byDairyGen Council of CDN; leadership in planning, preparation and execution of major industry initiatives;and supervision of graduate students and post-docs at the University of Guelph conducting research projectssupported by the industry. Filippo is the recipient of several prestigious awards (2013 ADSA JL Lush awardin Animal Breeding; 2016 CSAS Technical Innovation in Enhancing Production of Safe Affordable Food;2011 ICAR Distinguished Award). He is author of 2 book chapters, 85 scientific journal articles, and over400 articles/conference proceedings. Dr. Miglior leads several research projects with budgets exceeding$12.6 million overseeing a team of over 10 graduate students and researchers.

Prof JR RaoEducation1976 - BSc (First Class) Maths, Physics, Chemistry & PG Dip in Biology (Universityof Madras, India)1978 - MSc Environ Science and Ag Microbiology (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,India)1987 - PhD Plant Microbiology, School of Agric & Food Science, DANI-QUB (QUB,UK) Career1978-1983 Professor of Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India1987-1988 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, UCC, Cork, Ireland1988-1990 Senior Research Officer, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand1990-1999 Special Lecturer & Senior Research Officer, (DANI/DARD-QUB) UK1999-2016 Project leader, DARD-AFBI & twin Honorary Chairs (Professor), UU and QUB

Research Interests & ActivitiesMy post-doctoral research comprised a) molecular basis of effective grassland legume clover - Rhizobiumsymbiosis, b) Pseudomonas spp for crop production and disease suppression (Ireland) and c) impact ofRhizobium nodulation gene transfer in grassland sward soils (New Zealand). Research at DARD and AFBIfocussed on rapid molecular detection and surveillance of horticulture pathogens, mushroom green mouldand virus X diseases, sustainable environmental management via use of natural products for crop productionand crop protection (e.g. ornamental Fusarium wilt; tree die-backs), antibiotic resistance, eco-safe pelletedfarm wastes, prevalence and surveillance of human, animal and plant pathogens from farm andenvironmental sources, Cryptosporidium (safefood, www.safefood.eu, 2011-16), microbiological safety ofwater, crops, soil. I have published over 100+ peer reviewed publications and co-supervised post-graduatestudies (2000-to date) at QUB and at University of Ulster.

Dr Laurence Shalloo, TeagascLaurence Shalloo is a Senior Research Officer in the Livestock Systems ResearchDepartment of the Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Programme, andis based at Moorepark. Laurence graduated with a B. Agr. Sc (1st Hons.) from UCDin 1999, and with a PhD from UCD in 2004, funded through the Teagasc WalshFellowship Scheme where he developed the Moorepark Dairy Systems Model.Laurence commenced work at Teagasc Moorepark in 2004. He is a research co-ordinator on a number of Research Stimulus funded projects involving diverse areas

from developing models of the milk processing sector to developing a national sustainability assurancescheme. He is currently an SFI funded investigator. He has been a research co-ordinator of a work packagein the FP7 funded project AUTOGRASSMILK as well as significant involvement in (MULTISWARD,ANIMALCHANGE, GREENHOUSEMILK) projects. Currently supervising five Ph.D. students and has fourPost Doctorate Researchers as part of his team. Laurence is responsible for the generation of the economicvalues for the Irish Dairy cow selection index (EBI). Laurence was instrumental in the development of thePasture Profit Index as well as the development of PastureBaseIreland (A national grassland recordingsystem).

Dr Mark Boggess, USDADr. Mark Boggess is the Director of the USDA Agricultural Research Service U.S.Dairy Forage Research Center (USDFRC), in Madison, WI. In this role Dr. Boggessadministers the integrated research programs for the Agency focused on improvingthe capacity and efficiency, and the economic and environmental sustainability of thedairy and dairy forage industries. The USDFRC supports a diverse group of scientistswith subject matter expertise in soil science and ecology, agronomy, forage breedingand physiology, dairy science, dairy nutrition and genetics, agricultural engineering,bio-chemistry, and microbiology. Research priorities are focused on feed and nutrientutilization, integrated dairy and dairy forage systems, and nutrient cycling and wastemanagement.

Prior to serving as the Center Director for the USDFRC, Dr. Boggess served as the National Program Leaderfor USDA Agriculture Research Service (ARS) programs in Food Animal Production and Pasture, Forageand Rangeland Systems in Beltsville, Maryland. In this role, Boggess provided primary leadership for ARSresearch across the US, including programs for genetics and genomics, nutrition, reproductive physiology,animal welfare and meat quality for the food animal industries. He also provided leadership to develop andintegrate and improved pasture and rangeland management practices and land-use/renovation strategies.These programs were focused on optimizing economic viability and environmental sustainability for diversestakeholder groups responsible for managing forages, vegetation, livestock and natural resources on privateand public lands.

TravelFlights

Dublin airport is approx. 15 km fromDublin City centre and 17.9 km fromthe meeting centre. See here for a listof destinations to/from Dublin. If youcannot find a connection to Dublin,Kayak or Skyscanner websites give agood indication of flight possibilitiesbetween two destinations, and will include possibilities for connections. This is for informationpurposes only. It is generally best to book directly with the airlines concerned, and to satisfyyourself that the time between flights is sufficient to allow you to make connections. Airline contactdetails are available here.

From Dublin airport to city centre

Unfortunately there is no rail link to Dublin Airport.There are two main options to travel from theairport to the city centre – by coach or taxi.

a) Aircoach to Dublin City Centre

Aircoach operate a regular bus service betweenDublin Airport and the City Centre. The coachesare a distinctive blue colour and are fitted withreclining leather seats with extra leg room, air-conditioning and have free WiFi.

From the airport to Dublin city centre

Coaches depart from Dublin Airport just outside the Arrivals Halls at both Terminal 1 and Terminal2. At Terminal 1, the Aircoach stop is located at the front door on the Arrivals road - turn leftimmediately as you exit the terminal building. At Terminal 2, please continue along the samelevel following the signs for buses and coaches, cross the footbridge, and then exit down theescalator on the left hand side. Tell the driver that you want to travel to Grafton Street / TrinityCollege.

Arrival

On arrival, the Aircoach stops in front of Trinity College.

Tickets: The fare is €6 single or €11 return. You can pre-book your Aircoach tickets athttp://www.aircoach.ie/. At Dublin Airport you can purchase your ticket from any Aircoach staffmember at the Aircoach departure stands at either Terminal 1, Arrivals Road, or Terminal 2,Departures Road. You may also purchase your ticket from your driver when boarding the coach(you must pay with Euros in cash).

Journey time:

The journey should take approximately 30-45 minutes.

b) Taxi

Taxis are available from the forecourts directly outside Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Passengersshould follow Taxi signage to the designated taxi ranks. A taxi dispatcher is available at eithertaxi rank if you require any further information or assistance.

From Dublin City Centre to meeting venue

A train travels between Pearse Street Station and Ashtown at regular intervals throughout theday. Please see the timetable at the following link: http://www.irishrail.ie/travel-information/your-travel.

Directions:

The Teagasc Food Research Centre (meeting venue) is 5 minutes’ walk from Ashtown trainstation. When you get off train cross over the footbridge. Cross over the canal and walk downthe street passing Village Centre on left and Douglasand Kaldi on the right.

Continue walking straight up to roundabout. Straight through roundabout – straight on for about500m and Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown is on the left hand side.

GPS co-ordinates are: 53.380679,-6.33666

Accommodation

The Castleknock Hotel & Country Club, part of FBD Hotels & Resorts, is an award winning 4star hotel in Dublin specialising in conferences, weddings and leisure breaks. The hotel is situatedat Porterstown Road, Castleknock, Dublin 15. Its unique idyllic setting creates the allure of acountry resort yet the hotel is located just 15 minutes from Dublin city centre and close to DublinZoo, the Guinness Storehouse and Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.

Corporate rates are as follows: (You should mention Teagasc if you are making a bookingto avail of the corporate rate) - €125.00 BB single occupancy.

The above rate is inclusive of bed, full Irish breakfast, service charge, tax and WIFI. Guests canemail/phone the hotel directly to make their bookings (credit card required) from the listingsbelow:

• Telephone: +353 (0) 6406300• Email: reservations@chcc.ie• Http://www.castleknockhotel.com/

Hotel reception should be able to book a taxi for you to bring to Teagasc Ashtown Food ResearchCentre. Journey should take approximately 12 mins.