Teagasc appoint Cathal Somers as Head of ASSAP
Cathal Somers has been appointed as manager of the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP). The appointment was approved by the Teagasc Authority at its recent meeting.
The ASSAP programme is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Dairy and Meat Processors; it is coordinated by Teagasc, Dairy and Meat Processors and Local Authority Waters Programme; and supported by the main farming organisations. The programme provides free, confidential advisory support to farmers to help them to improve water quality across Ireland with a view of attaining water framework directive water quality targets. Twenty ASSAP advisors are employed in Teagasc with a further 40 advisors employed in the Co-ops and meat sector.
Cathal Somers currently serves as a water quality specialist at Teagasc where he has worked closely with research colleagues across a number of Teagasc centres and the Agricultural Catchments Programme (ACP) to develop and translate new research and best practice in relation to water quality with a focus on reducing nutrient losses from farms.
Cathal also led the development of AgPlanner, a digital tool used by ASSAP advisors to track water quality actions on farms across the country. It also includes a mapping feature, which will be launched later this year.
Congratulating Cathal Somers on his appointment, Professor Pat Dillon, Director of Research in Teagasc said; “Cathal brings a wealth of experience in supporting advisors to accelerate the adoption of actions by farmers on farms to improve water bodies. I look forward to working with Cathal as he leads the ASSAP programme which will play a critical role in the Better Farming for Water campaign.”
Noel Meehan, Head of the Water Quality Knowledge Transfer Department in Teagasc, said; “With extensive experience in both technical and strategic roles within Teagasc, Cathal is uniquely positioned to lead ASSAP into its next phase of impact and innovation. He has successfully led the training of advisors and those working in the industry for the Better Farming for Water campaign.”
Cathal holds a Masters in Environmental Management from the University of Ulster. He also co-hosts the Teagasc Environment Edge Podcast and is co-host of the Signpost Series webinars.