Women in Ag: Go out and seize all opportunities you can
Farmer Joan lonergan on her farm in Neddans, Grange Co Tipperary wher she milks over two hundred cows daily. photo john d kelly
Karina Pierce grew up in Wicklow on a beef and sheep farm. She had a passion for agriculture from a young age, which meant that studying agricultural science was the obvious route for her, however, having an older brother meant going home to run the farm was not an option for after her degree.
That didn’t stop her though, and she decided to forge her own path in the sector, deciding instead to focus on research.
Completing her bachelor’s in 2001, Prof Pierce jumped straight into a master’s in researching pig nutrition in the same year. This extended into a PhD for Prof Pierce, which found her concluding her research in pig nutrition in 2004.
Completing that, Prof Pierce moved away from research for the time being and worked as an animal nutritionist with Brett Brothers in Kilkenny. After two years, she began to miss research so in October 2006 she returned to UCD, assuming a post-doctoral position.
By April 2007, she had applied and secured the lectureship in dairy which is the title she still holds today.
Between teaching students in UCD, getting involved and overseeing research and work on the dairy herd in Lyons farm, writing research proposals or attending meetings with The National Dairy Council (NDC), and being on the board with Bord Bia, there is nothing ‘typical’ about her days or weeks.
Discussing the environment women in agriculture face today, Prof Pierce said: “I think it has improved hugely. When I’ve started in the industry with Brett’s in 2004, it’s typical that I might be the only female in a room — if there were 25 in a room, there might have been only two females.”
However, while she said it may have made her feel conscious at times, she never felt like a barrier to her. “Particularly state boards there would be at least 40% women on those boards, in UCD half of the staff are female, half of our student population is female in agriculture. And so it has changed an awful lot. We see how there are not many female CEOs, but we certainly see females in senior positions in many organisations in the industry now.
“If women in agriculture want that support, there’s plenty of it there,” she said, highlighting the National Women in Agriculture Action Plan, launched by the Department of Agriculture the previous year, the Agricultural Science Association and their supports and events, through which Prof Pierce was only the second female president of the organisation from 2011-2012, and a group named Ceres, named after the Roman Goddess of agriculture and the harvest, just to name a few.
A major highlight for Prof Pierce’s career was being appointed to the Teagasc board in 2023. “…that was a ministerial appointment by Minister Coveney and that was a big deal for me.
“I was a sort of early mid-30s at the time, and for that confidence to be placed in you, and then again that opportunity has led to opportunities on other boards as well,” she said.
“So it’s that somebody placing that confidence in you. To give you that initial opportunity, and then it’s up to yourself then what you do with that opportunity after,” Prof Pierce strongly believes the advancement of farming technology has removed a lot of the perceived barriers for women in agriculture.
“I would say the future is really bright for women in agriculture.”
Reflecting on what she would tell young women and girls who have an interest in agriculture, Prof Pierce said: “I’d say be brave and just grab the opportunities and you know they will lead to the next opportunity. Once you do that.”
Ms Lonergan is a dairy farmer located in Co Tipperary, who started working on the family beef farm alongside her father and siblings. She completed her studies in business and finance in Cork and went on to work in a bank.
At a young age, she and her seven siblings were told by her parents that her brother would be inheriting the farm. “It’s not that I could have fought for the farm, but at that point, I shouldn’t have accepted it ‘cause I loved it. I should have pursued my career earlier in it,” she said.
After marrying her husband in 2013, a dairy farmer and tillage contractor, Ms Lonergan began taking on the dairy enterprise in partnership with her husband, allowing him to focus on his growing contracting business.
“It’s great — fantastic even — to say I’m getting half the milk cheque in my name, but I’m also getting half the debts.”
Alongside two staff she milks 270 pedigree Holstein-Friesian cows in a split autumn and spring calving system.
But it’s a balancing act daily as she is still the primary caregiver to her two small children, while also working on the farm.
“I get up in the morning going, ‘How much can I get done before I have to come down to get the children ready’.
“I had a big learning curve. I’ve made the failures here, I’ve messed up on this and I’ve forgotten that… But I’m so proud, so proud of what I’ve done.”
On the topic of gender equality in agriculture, Ms Lonergan was positive about its progress. “There’s loads, businesses and industries out there. Trying to push it, to help it. Definitely, I see it with the ICMSA that I’m involved in, they’re encouraging more women. They’re welcoming women onto their boards. They want women taking part, and that’s so, so positive,” she said.
“I would like to see the co-ops be a bit more forthcoming…they’re very slow to the game. The big cooperatives. I would say definitely Dairy Women Ireland, ICMSA and Teagasc, are trying to break more ground and encourage more.”
In regards to supporting other women in agriculture, Ms Lonergan had a proactive outlook.
When discussing what she would like to see a future in farming look for women, Ms Lonergan said: “We now have loads of younger generation, loads of young people are getting involved more as and the women are going ‘It’s OK for me to come along and go farm’. And if you had a family with girls and boys, it’s whoever shines and who has the passion most.
“I like to think the farmer will go, ‘Oh God, I will give it to my daughter,’ you know, and I am already seeing that through people and I’m seeing in the industry as well. I definitely see it within my own discussion group.”
Regarding what would she have told her younger self or other young women and girls with a passion for agriculture, Joan Lonergan said: “Believe in yourself, because, as women, we overthink things. Just do it. Just do it and see and try it… And that’s what I would be saying to my two girls as well, try it, go out there and do it. Get it done.
“I just want to get the message out to farmers that are male to try to bring on the women as well. They don’t just have their wife running here, running there like ‘oh they’re a grand gopher,’ get them involved more, and let them be part of the business.
“Don’t sideline them to the ‘gopher’… every great man always, always has a fantastic woman behind him.”
