Former Ulster Bank agri-manager becomes new head of education at Teagasc

Dr Anne Marie Butler has wealth of experience in teaching and management

Dr Anne Marie Butler commenced her role as the new head of the Teagasc Education Programme this week. She will lead the programme which is delivered through the agriculture and horticulture colleges, Teagasc education centres, and in collaboration with the Universities and Institutes of Technology.

Dr Butler is an agricultural scientist and joins Teagasc from Ulster Bank where she held a leadership role as senior agriculture manager and relationship director.

She qualified with a first class honours B Agr Sc from University College Dublin, winning the Hussey Prize for agriculture. She went on to obtain a PhD from University College Dublin, completing her doctorate research at Moorepark, under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship programme. Dr Butler also holds numerous financial qualifications including a University Diploma in Financial Services.

From a tillage farm in Freshford in North Kilkenny, Dr Butler is a former president of the Agricultural Science Association, and was recently appointed honorary president 2021/2022 of IASTA, the Irish Agricultural Science Teachers Association.

In her early career she was a lecturer in farm business management at the UCD School of Agriculture and was responsible for the delivery and examination of core subject material for degree, masters and PhD programmes. She was a research supervisor for Teagasc Walsh Fellowship postgraduate students.

She says: “It is a very exciting time in education, as we seek to prepare and develop the farmers, horticulturalists, foresters and equine students for a modern and dynamic agri-food sector. In particular, equipping them with the knowledge to meet and address the economic, environmental and social sustainability challenges facing the sector. It’s also exciting, as Teagasc has embraced the rapid transformation to digital delivery models, blended with traditional practical skills training.”