Our Organisation Search Quick Links
Toggle: Topics
View all staff

David Meredith

Senior Research Officer

Research Interests

David Meredith is a Senior Research Officer and Head of the AgriFood Social, Behavioural and Spatial Science Department at Teagasc, Ashtown. His research programme centres the social sustainability of agriculture, in particular farmer health, safety, and wellbeing. Combining social science and behavioural theory with mixed methods, his work generates evidence that underpins national policy and practical interventions designed to improve the quality of life of farmers and farm households in Ireland and across Europe.

David leads and coordinates externally funded research at national and European level, including as Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator of SafeHabitus (EU Horizon Europe, 2023–2027) and as Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator of the Safer by Design programme (DAFM, 2025–2029). He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Agromedicine, a Board Member of the International Association on Agricultural Work (IAWA), and an Adjunct Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the UCD School of Geography.

Research areas include:

  • Social sustainability of agriculture and farm households
  • Farmer health, safety, and wellbeing
  • Farm safety intervention design and evaluation
  • Social dimensions of occupational health in agriculture
  • Rural development and agricultural policy

Current Projects

  • Safer by Design: Integrated research programme on farmer health, safety, and wellbeing. Funded by DAFM (2026–2030), €738,517. David Meredith, Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator. Partner: UCD School of Agriculture and Food Sciences.
  • SafeHabitus: Strengthening Farm Health and Safety Knowledge and Innovation Systems. Funded by EU Horizon Europe (2023–2027), €4.8M. David Meredith, Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator. 20 partner organisations across 13 EU member states. Find more information about the SafeHabitus Project here.
  • RENEW2050: Supporting Generational Renewal in Irish Agriculture. Funded by DAFM Stimulus Fund (2019), €347,000. David Meredith, Principal Investigator. Partner: Cork University Business School. (Completed)
  • BeSafe: Behaviours for Safer Farming. Funded by DAFM Stimulus Fund (2017), €600,000. David Meredith, Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator. Partners: NUI Galway; UCD School of Agriculture and Food Sciences; UCD School of Veterinary Medicine. (Completed)

Education

Dip. Statistics Trinity College Dublin 2012 – 2014

PhD Geography NUI Maynooth. 2007 – 2012
Thesis: Evaluating the National Spatial Strategy for Ireland: People, Place and Potential. Awarded February 2012

MLitt. Geography University College Dublin 1995 – 1998
Thesis: Impacts of the Common Fisheries Policy on the structure of the Irish fishing fleet and implications for rural development.
Award: Distinction

BA Geography University College Dublin (N.U.I) 1992 – 1995
Dissertation: Slieveardagh, Co. Tipperary: The role of sustainable agricultural and rural development.
Award: B.A. Hons.

Professional Membership

  • International Association on Agricultural Work
  • Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland
  • Geographical Society of Ireland

View David Meredith’s Publications on ‪Google Scholar

2026

  1. Van Doorn, D., Richardson, N., Blake, C., McNamara, J., & Meredith, D. (2026). Socio-Economic and Occupational Variations in Cardiovascular Risk Among Irish Male Livestock Farmers: Baseline Findings from the Farmers Have Hearts–Cardiovascular Health Program. Journal of Agromedicine, 31(2), 313–328.

2025

  1. Shortall, S., & Meredith, D. (2025). The mirage of research and research expertise: Reflections on leading Horizon Europe bids. Sociologia Ruralis, 65(1), e12497.
  2. Hammersley, C., Richardson, N., Meredith, D., Carroll, P., & Jenkins, P. (2025). On Feirm Ground, Supporting Farmer Mental Health: Analysing the effectiveness of a bespoke farmer mental health training programme targeted at farm advisors in Ireland. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 31(1), 90–118.
  3. Surendran, A., McSharry, J., Di Domenico, R., Meredith, D., Meade, O., Malone, S., & O’Hora, D. (2025). Deconstruction of farm machine-related safety interventions: a systematic review and narrative synthesis. Annals of Work Exposures and Health, 69(3), 233–250.

2024

  1. Brereton, N., McGee, M., Beltman, M., Byrne, C. J., Meredith, D., & Earley, B. (2024). Effect of suckler cow breed type and parity on the development of the cow-calf bond post-partum and calf passive immunity. Irish Veterinary Journal, 77(1).
  2. Mohammadrezaei, M., Meredith, D., & McNamara, J. (2024). Counting Farm Injuries and Fatalities: An Assessment of Irish Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Data Systems. Journal of Agromedicine, 29(2), 289–296.
  3. Mohammadrezaei, M., Meredith, D., & McNamara, J. (2024). Telling Tales: Using Vignettes to Overcome Optimism Bias in Farm Health and Safety Attitudinal Studies. Journal of Agromedicine, 29(4), 531–546.
  4. Roberts, R., Munoz, S. A., Thorpe, K., Dalton, H., Deacon, L., Meredith, D., et al. (2024). International declaration on rural mental health research: 10 guiding principles and standards. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 32(4), 611–616.
  5. Surendran, A., McSharry, J., Meade, O., Meredith, D., McNamara, J., Bligh, F., & O’Hora, D. (2024). Barriers and facilitators to adopting safe farm-machine related behaviours: A focus group study exploring older farmers’ perspectives. Journal of Safety Research, 90, 19–30.