Professional Career in Agricultural Sciences in Italy and Switzerland

Joël Bérard graduated in Food Engineering at the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Parma. He then earned a doctorate at ETH Zurich with a thesis on pig production conducted as part of a joint project between the former Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux ALP Research Station and ETH. This was followed initially by a postdoctoral fellowship in the ‘Livestock’ Group at the Institute for Muscle Biology and Growth of the Leibniz Institute for Livestock Biology in Dummerstorf, Germany, then by a stint as Head of Research in the ‘Animal and Dairy Products’ Group at the Institut Agricole Régional Aosta in Italy. In March 2013 he returned to Switzerland as a Senior Research Associate/Lecturer and Head of the ‘Sustainable Animal Nutrition, Alpine Agricultural Systems and Food Quality’ Research Group at ETH Zurich. Since January 2017, Joël Bérard has been Head of Research at AgroVet-Strickhof, a collaboration for education and research between Strickhof, the Vetsuisse Faculty of the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. He is responsible for co-ordinating research activities and in charge of laboratory-animal husbandry. He is also responsible for the positioning of AgroVet-Stickhof in the national and international research environment.

Profound Expertise in Animal Research and the Livestock Scene

Joël Bérard will be taking over as Head of the ‘Animal Production Systems and Animal Health’ Strategic Research Division at Agroscope, in which capacity he will become a member of the Executive Board. In addition to a wealth of professional and leadership experience, Bérard brings with him a sound knowledge of animals and animal health. Thanks to his current post at AgroVet-Strickhof, Bérard is not only familiar with the current and future challenges facing the livestock-oriented agriculture and food sector, but is also at the cutting edge of national and international livestock research. In the research community and in the Swiss livestock sector, Joël Bérard is an acknowledged name and a well-networked individual.

Joël Bérard will succeed Hans Dieter Hess

Joël Bérard will succeed Hans Dieter Hess, who has left Agroscope for a new career challenge at cantonal level. The research division will be headed ad interim by Andreas Lüscher until Bérard takes the helm in April 2020. The Agroscope Executive Board would like to thank Hans Dieter Hess and Andreas Lüscher for their many years of hard work and commitment, and extend a warm welcome to Joël Bérard.

Joël Bérard Will Be the New ‘Animal Production Systems and Animal Health’ Research Division Head at Agroscope