Prof. Thia Hennessy

Biography

Professor Thia Hennessy is a senior, experienced leader with a track record of significant achievement in academia and business. She is Head of the College of Business and Law at UCC and prior to this she was Dean of Cork University Business School. A highly cited economist with strong quantitative skills, Prof Hennessy has published numerous articles on the economic performance of the agri-food sector and is a regularly invited expert to policy-making bodies such as the European Parliament and the OECD. Prior to joining UCC in 2016, she was employed by Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority, where she was responsible for the National Farm Survey (NFS) which produces the official statistics on farm income in Ireland. In this role, she led a multidisciplinary team to adapt the survey to develop a unique suite of sustainability indicators. Thia is a frequent contributor to tv, radio and the printed press clearly disseminating complex information supported by statistical evidence. In recognition of her research contributions, Thia was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by her alma mater, the University of Reading in 2019.  

 

Education

• Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics.  University of Reading, UK (2005)
• Sabbatical leave at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia (2002 -2003) 
• Master of Business Studies in Agri-Food Business. Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin, Ireland (1997)
• B.A. Economics and Finance. National University of Ireland, Maynooth. (1996)

Appointments

• Director of Animal Health Ireland (2008 to 2012)
• Board Member of the National Competitiveness Council (2004 to 2009)
• Expert Evaluator for the EU Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme (2010 & 2011)
• Member of the National Consultative Committee on Agricultural Policy (2006 to date)

Awards

• Outstanding Young Researcher by the British Agricultural Economics Society  (2012)
• Teagasc Staff Excellence in Research (2013)

International Research Networks

• FAPRI-Ireland partnership
• Farm Accountancy Data Network of the EU
• Genedec: EU funded 7^th Framework project
• Factor Markets: EU funded 7^th Framework project
• FLINT: EU funded 7^th Framework project

Refereeing and Reviewing Activities

• Associate Editor of the International Journal of Agricultural Management (2013 to date)
• Referee for Journal of Agricultural Economics, European Review of Agricultural Economics, Food Policy, Land Use Policy and the Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research

Recent Peer-reviewed Publications

Hennessy, T., Kinsella, A. and Thorne, F. (2016). Planned intentions versus actual behaviour: assessing the reliability of intention surveys in predicting farmers’ production levels post decoupling. International Journal of Agricultural Management. Forthcoming

Ryan, M., Hennessy, T., Buckley, C., Dillon, E, Donnellan, T., Hanrahan, K., and Moran, B. (2016).

Developing farm-level sustainability indicators for Ireland using the
Teagasc National Farm Survey. Irish Journal of Agriculture and Food Research Forthcoming.

Loughrey, J., Thorne, F.  and Hennessy, T. (2016) A Microsimulation Model for Risk in Irish Tillage Farming. International Journal of Microsimulation Vol 9(2):41-76

Loughrey, J. and Hennessy, T. (2016) Farm Income Variability and Off-farm Employment in Ireland. Agricultural Finance Review. Vol. 76.(3). 378-401

Hennessy, T., Laepple, D. and Moran, B. (2016). The Digital Divide in Farming: A Problem of Access or Engagement. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. Vol 38. No. 3, pp 474-491

Dillon, E.J, Hennessy, T, and Cullinan, J. (2016). The role of agricultural education and extension in influencing best practice for managing mastitis in dairy cattle.  The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension. Vol 22(3). 255-270

Dillon, E, Hennessy, T., Buckley, C., Donnellan, T., Hanrahan, K., and Moran, B. (2016).  The sustainable intensification of the dairy sector. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. Vol 14(1). 31-44

Loughrey, J., Thorne, F., Kinsella, A., Hennessy, T. and O Donoghue, C. (2015).  Market risk management and the demand for forward contracts among Irish dairy farmers. International Journal of Agricultural Management. Vol. 4 (4).  

O Brien, D., Hennessy, T., Moran, B. and Shalloo, L. (2015). Relating the carbon footprint of milk from Irish dairy farms to economic performance. Journal of Dairy Science. 98(10): 7394-7407

Lapple, D., and Hennessy, T. (2015). Assessing the impact of financial incentives in extension programmes: evidence from Ireland. Journal of Agricultural Economics Vol. 66, No. 3, pp781-795

O Toole, C. and Hennessy, T. (2015). Do decoupled payments affect investment financing constraints? Evidence from Irish agriculture. Food Policy. Vol 56. 67-75

Lapple, D., and Hennessy, T. (2015).Exploring the role of incentives in agricultural extension programmes. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. Vol 37. No. 3, pp 403-417

O Donoghue, C. and Hennessy, T. (2015). Policy and Economic Change in the Agri-Food Sector in Ireland. Economic and Social Review. Vol 46. No. 2. 315-337

Ryan, M, Buckley, C., Dillon, E., Donnellan, T., Hanrahan, K., Hennessy, T., Moran, B. and Kelly, E. (2015). The most economically efficient farms produce lowest GHG emissions per kg of product. Eurochoices Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp 26-27

Dillon, E.J, Hennessy, T, and Cullinan, J. (2015) Measuring the economic impact of improved control of sub-clinical mastitis in Irish dairy herds. The Journal of Agricultural Science. Vol. 153, 666-675

Shrestha, S., Abdalla, M., Hennessy, T., Forristal, D. and Jones, M. (2015).  Irish farms under climate change – is there a regional variation in farm responses? The  Journal of Agricultural Science.  Vol 153. 385-398

Shrestha, S., Hennessy, T., Abdalla, M.,   Forristal, D. and Jones, M. (2014).  Determining Short Term Responses of Irish Dairy Farms under Climate Change. German Journal of Agricultural Economics. No. 3 page 1-13

Hennessy, T., Kinsella, A. and Dillon, E. (2014). Forty years of the Common Agricultural Policy: The Irish farming experience. Administration. Vol. 62(2)

Loughrey, J. and Hennessy, T. (2014). Hidden underemployment among Irish Farm holders 2002 to 2011. Applied Economics. Vol 46 . (26)

Kilcline, K.,  O’Donoghue, C., Hennessy, T. and  Hynes, S. (2014) Economic Factors affecting concentrate usage on Irish Sheep Farms. International Journal of Agricultural Management. Vol. 3 (4).  

Howley, P., Dillon, E. and Hennessy, T. (2014). It’s not all about the money: understanding farmers’ labor allocation choices. Agriculture and Human Values. 31(2): 261-271

Donnellan, T, Hennessy, T and O Callaghan, D. (2014). The Potential for Economies of Scale in the Dairy Processing Sector. The International Journal of Dairy Technology.  67(1): 129-134

O, Toole, C., Newman, C. and Hennessy, T. (2014). Financing Constraints and Agricultural Investment: Effects of the Irish Financial Crisis. Journal of Agricultural Economics. 65 (1): 152-176