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Lorraine Balaine

Senior Research Officer - Climate Centre

Research Interests

Lorraine is an agri-environmental economist based in Teagasc Athenry. She focuses on the issues of sustainability and climate change in farming. She has particular interest in using economic analysis and multi-disciplinary research to reconcile the three sustainability dimensions (economic, environmental and social) and inform farmers’ technology adoption decisions and public policy.

Current Projects

  • 2025-2029: Butterfly – Mainstreaming pollinator stewardship in view of cascading ecological, societal and economic impacts of pollinator decline. Funded by Horizon Europe. Irish PI and task contributor.
  • 2024-2028: Nutritive – Innovative decision-making tool for defining the most suitable manure management strategies to achieve a sustainable livestock farming system during the whole value chain. Funded by Horizon Europe. Irish PI and WP leader.
  • 2024-2028: Step up – Sustainable Livestock Systems Transition and Evidence Platform for Upgrading Policies. Funded by Horizon Europe. Task leader.
  • 2024-2028: Climate resilience – Exploring the concepts of resilience, adaptive capacity and vulnerability to climate change on Irish farms: Implications for farm sustainability and mitigation capacity. Funded by Teagasc. PI.
  • 2024-2028: Measure – Modelling estimates for agriculture sustainability using real evidence. Funded by DAFM. Task contributor.
  • 2024-2025: Genfarms – Gender and generational factors in agricultural resource management for sustainability. Funded by DAFM. Task contributor.

Education

  • 2025: Graduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership, Dublin City University, Dublin
  • 2021: PhD in Economics, National University of Ireland, Galway
  • 2016: MSc Economics of Agricultural Development, the Environment and Food (EcoDEVA), Montpellier SupAgro, University of Montpellier and CIHEAM-IAMM (France)
  • 2016: Diploma of Agricultural Engineering – Montpellier SupAgro (France)

Research team

Professional Membership

  • Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland
  • European Association of Agricultural Economists
  • UK Agricultural Economics Society

Appointments

  • 2022-present: Liaison Officer, European Association of Agricultural Economists – Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland
  • 2022 – 2024: Honorary Secretary of the Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland

View Lorraine’s full list of publications in her profile on:

ORCID | Google Scholar

Selected Publications

Balaine, L., Henchion, M., Macken-Walsh, Á., Meredith, D., Mohammadrezaei, M. and Sweeney, S., 2025. Farm-level behavioural change towards building climate resilience: Insights from a mixed-methods study. Climate Change Advisory Council Working Paper No. 36.

Burrell, A.M., Balaine, L., Clifford, S., McGrath, M., Graham, D.A., McCoy, F., Dillon, E. and Regan, Á., 2024. A multi-methods, multi-actor exploration of the benefits and barriers to milk recording on Irish farms using the COM-B model. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 227, 106195.

Balaine, L., Buckley, C., Baillet, V., de Otálora, X.D., Dragoni, F., Wilfart, A., Amon, B., del Prado, A., Frątczak-Müller, J. and Krol, D., 2024. Influence of methodological choices in farm sustainability assessments: A word of caution from a case study analysis of European dairy farms. Environmental Science & Policy, 156, 103745.

Balaine, L., Läpple, D., Dillon, E.J. and Buckley, C., 2023. Extension and management pathways for enhanced farm sustainability: evidence from Irish dairy farms. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 50(2), pp.810-850.

Balaine, L., Läpple, D., Buckley, C. and Dillon, E., 2022. Reconciling socio‐economic and environmental sustainability in agri‐food development: A critical appraisal of Irish strategies. EuroChoices, 21(2), pp.52-57.

Balaine, L., Gallai, N., Del Corso, J.P. and Kephaliacos, C., 2020. Trading off environmental goods for compensations: Insights from traditional and deliberative valuation methods in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ecosystem Services, 43, 101110.