From pioneering silage research at Hillsborough to shaping agricultural policy and leading AFBI, Dr Sinclair Mayne reflects on a career rooted in farm‑focused science and the partnerships that helped Northern Ireland agriculture punch above its weight
For almost fifty years, Dr Sinclair Mayne has been closely linked with research at Hillsborough, witnessing — and helping to shape — the scientific work that has underpinned Northern Ireland’s agri‑food success for generations of farmers.
Now technically retired, but still working one or two days a week as a research scientific adviser with AgriSearch, Mayne’s reflections offer a rare perspective on how agricultural research has evolved — and why staying connected to farm reality has always mattered.
From Farm Roots to World‑Leading Research
Like many of his generation, Mayne’s route into agriculture began at home. He studied Agriculture at Queen’s University Belfast, initially with no intention of pursuing a PhD. That changed through the influence of Hillsborough‑based scientists who lectured at Queen’s and demonstrated the impact that well‑designed, applied research could have on farm performance.
He recalls names that remain synonymous with Northern Ireland agricultural science: Professor John Murdoch (Director of the Institute), Professor Fred Gordon (Head of the Dairy Research Unit), Raymond Steen (beef), and Norman Walker (pigs). These were, as he describes them, “world leaders”, whose clarity of thinking and commitment to industry left a lasting impression.
His first contract at Hillsborough dates to 1976. While still a student at Queen’s, he began his PhD at what was then the Agricultural Research Institute for Northern Ireland (ARINI), marking the start of a career that would span research, leadership and policy.
A Community as Well as an Institute
For Mayne, Hillsborough was never just a place of work — it was a community.
He recalls an era when the Director lived on site and postgraduate students were invited once a year to “the villa” for tea or supper.
“As a young student, that was really a big night for me… it showed the connectivity between the head of the institute and the postgraduate students.”
With around 100 staff, the institute was small enough to feel personal. Researchers, technicians, farm staff, students and lecturers shared tea rooms, routines and a strong sense of shared purpose.
On the dairy side, there was even a culinary incentive.
“The attraction of the dairy unit was that you got a full‑blown Ulster fry in the morning after you finished milking… made by the two cleaning ladies, Nell and Mona. There were some nice big fry‑ups.”
More importantly, he says, everyone understood how closely their work was linked to farm outcomes. There was little separation between science, application and industry impact.
World‑Leading Work on Grass and Silage
If Hillsborough’s reputation rests firmly in one area, it is grassland and silage research. Mayne’s PhD focused on silage production and supplementation for milk production, comparing systems to improve intake, fermentation quality and overall efficiency.
He worked during a period when, as he puts it, “Hillsborough genuinely was world leading in grass silage research”, with many of the principles developed during that era still underpinning modern practice.
Research helped drive major shifts in silage systems: away from very wet, long‑cut material towards short‑chopped, wilted grass at around 30% dry matter, alongside work on additives, precision chopping and feed utilisation.
After time working in England at the UK National Institute for Bioscience Research in Devon, Mayne returned to Hillsborough in 1987 as Head of Dairy Research. He was also asked by then Director Fred Gordon to deliver grass production lectures at Queen’s University Belfast, where he even quoted from some of Professor Murdoch’s original handwritten notes.
Breeding, Technology and the Balanced Cow
Beyond forage research, Mayne has seen profound changes in dairy genetics and technology. For a period, breeding strategies focused heavily on maximising milk yield, often at the expense of fertility, health and longevity in grass‑based systems.
He describes the subsequent “U‑turn” towards more balanced breeding goals, reflected in the Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI).
He also engaged with new technologies, including robotic milking — a topic he once discussed at Buckingham Palace with The Princess Royal — following earlier Hillsborough leaders in receiving a prestigious award recognising his contribution to dairy research.
Leadership, Policy and Structural Change
In 2002, Mayne was appointed Director of ARINI. He acknowledges that the years that followed involved difficult decisions, particularly as the institute transitioned into AFBI following the O’Hare Review.
Previously, Hillsborough operated as an arm’s‑length body with its own board. Integration into a more centralised structure brought both challenges and opportunities, including increased capacity for multidisciplinary research.
“The focus throughout that transition was to continue supporting the industry.”
In 2009, Mayne left Hillsborough to take up the role of Departmental Scientific Adviser in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), embedding scientific evidence within agricultural policy.
He returned to AFBI in 2013 as Director of the Sustainable Agri‑Food Sciences Division, before being appointed AFBI Chief Executive in 2016. He retired from that role in September 2018.
Learning From Farmers: Research That Works on the Ground
A consistent theme in Mayne’s reflections is the two‑way exchange between researchers and farmers. His first discussion group meeting in the late 1980s left a lasting impression.
“Two or three top farmers started asking questions… I learned a huge amount that night. The key is listening.”
This shaped an approach in which research was expected to be challenged, tested and communicated well beyond the institute.
“There’s no point in publishing science if it doesn’t translate at farm level. You need rigour, but you also need to speak a farmer’s language.”
He believes this ethos of scientific rigour and practical communication explains why Northern Ireland continues to outperform its size in food production.
He points to the latest figures: 17% of UK milk, 16% of UK beef and 30% of UK poultry meat all produced in Northern Ireland.
“We don’t trumpet Northern Ireland being a powerhouse in food production nearly enough. And the reason is it comes from good farmers working closely with good researchers over decades.”
Looking Forward
Mayne is also passionate about the strengthening of links between researchers and future generations, welcoming the new Agricultural Science and Veterinary Biosciences degree programme at Queen’s and the deepening QUB‑AFBI partnership.
“We need a pipeline of young people coming through who understand science but can also work comfortably on farms and with farmers and work on projects that will make a difference for years to come.”
At the heart of his message lies both a warning and a confidence. If the industry ever decided it no longer needed Hillsborough, something “irreplaceable” would be lost. Equally, by keeping efficiency‑focused, farm‑relevant research at its core, Mayne believes Hillsborough can remain as vital for efficiency-driven, farm-focused research in its second century as it was in its first.
“Hillsborough is still here after 100 years because the industry valued what it delivered. That partnership is the key to future success,” he adds.