KERRIE FARRAR has been appointed as Germinal Chair of Translational Plant Breeding at Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS).
Farrar currently leads the Institute Strategic Programme on Resilient Crops at IBERS, which includes research on perennial ryegrass, red and white clover, oats, and Miscanthus. The programme is strategically funded by the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
In this new professorial role, she will identify and optimise areas of research and technologies that can be translated into plant breeding programmes to support the partnership with Germinal Horizon, the research and product development division of the Openfolde Group, which will be sponsoring the role.
IBERS at Aberystwyth University has been a commercial partner of Openfolde, which was formerly known as Germinal Holdings, for almost 40 years.
Farrar said: “I am delighted to be taking up the role of Germinal Chair in Translational Plant Breeding and to continue my work contributing to the long tradition of forage crop breeding at Aberystwyth.
“I look forward to working with Germinal Horizon to translate IBERS’ strategic research into resilient crop varieties, supporting farmers and sustainable agriculture more broadly.”
Professor Iain Donnison, Director of the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), said: “I warmly congratulate Kerrie on her appointment.
“IBERS and Germinal Horizon have a longstanding partnership focused on developing new and improved varieties of forage crops, underpinned by cutting-edge research, and this appointment reconfirms our mission to see the latest science applied to plant breeding.
“The Germinal Chair plays a vital role in translating this research from the laboratory to the field, delivering real-world impact for sustainable, productive farming. ”
IBERS builds on more than a century of plant breeding expertise at Aberystwyth, and provides a national capability in grassland and plant breeding science, supporting food security, sustainability goals and the meeting of climate change targets.
Its facilities include the National Plant Phenomics Centre, an advanced biorefining pilot facility and a unique seed bank which safeguards one of the world’s largest collections of seeds from grasses, clover, oats and miscanthus.
Grace Welling, Strategic Development Manager of Germinal Horizon, said: “Throughout her research career, Kerrie has demonstrated exceptional leadership in plant breeding and crop genomics spanning fundamental discovery through to translational breeding and development of varieties with potential as viable crops.
“Her knowledge and expertise in plant phenomics and genomics, including advancements in plant breeding technology tools, will help us connect genetic variations to performance differences in the field to create improved varieties with real-world impact.”
Farrar takes up her new appointment at IBERS tomorrow (July 1).
