Somerville appointed CEO for Livestock Research Innovation Corp.

Kelly Somerville has been appointed CEO of the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation following the retirement of Mike McMorris last month.

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Somerville previously served as the organization’s industry services manager and assumed her new role Sept. 3.

A University of Guelph animal science graduate, Somerville has an extensive background in the beef industry as well as past roles with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association. She co-owns a small herd of purebred Angus cattle.

“Over the past year, Kelly has impressed us with her passion, drive and vision for the livestock industry, as well as her expertise and ability to build relationships across our industry and beyond, positioning her well to lead this organization into its next chapter,” LRIC board chair Don Gordon said in a news release.

“LRIC is an innovation organization, and we believe Kelly is an innovative hire who is very reflective of the generational shift in our industry as young, innovative people move into leadership roles.”

Since joining LRIC last year, Somerville has been involved in developing and leading many projects. They include the tour series to introduce government, academia and industry representatives to farmers and innovation on livestock farms, Horizon Series webinars, and the Engineering a Better Farm initiative to help bring engineering expertise and innovation to livestock farming by building relationships with engineering schools at several universities.

She also works with LRIC members and with its international research advisory committee and emerging trends and opportunities committee.

“As an organization, LRIC is on a solid path, with the board and staff fully committed to driving research as a key element in the livestock innovation cycle. I look forward to building off the existing momentum and continuing the great initiatives currently underway,” Somerville said in the release.

“This includes our GRIP (Getting Research into Practice) roundtable coming up this fall, which will be the next step in our ongoing efforts to get research from the lab into the barn.”