Dr John Keoghan was recently recognised for his extraordinary commitment to the Otago and Canterbury sections of the NZ Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science (NZIAHS, formerly NZIAS) having been involved with the Institute for 42 years. 

Dr Keoghan joined the NZIAS after returning to New Zealand in 1982, soon after joining the Otago Section Committee. He chaired the committee from 1986 to 1989 and again from 1991 to 1992. From 1989 to 1990, he also served as a councillor for the national committee. 

In 1988, Dr Keoghan initiated the CRT Significant Achievement Awards and helped organise the NZIAS Ag Tomorrow convention held in Dunedin the following year. Other significant contributions during his time on the Otago Section Committee included writing and collating submissions on the Maniototo Irrigation scheme, promoting greater discussion and review of the benefits of extending the scheme to a larger area. He also encouraged greater community involvement in NZIAS activities, organising several family-orientated field trips in Otago and Canterbury. 

Dr Keoghan joined the NZIAHS Canterbury Section Committee in 1993, becoming Chairman in 1996, a role he continued until 2000. After that, he remained an active member of the committee initiating the Significant Achievement Award for the Canterbury region, organised lunchtime walkabouts, family weekends and a series of presentations from the then Crown Research Institutes and local university Vice-Chancellors. 

In 1997, Dr Keoghan chaired the convention committee for the 'Boffins and Bean Counters' Convention and involved many farmers and consultants in a workshop titled Bringing Science to the Producers. 

From judging at Science Fairs to meeting with farmers or MPs, Dr Keoghan always promoted sound agricultural science and encouraged fellowship among NZIAHS members. 

Outside of the NZIAHS, Dr Keoghan was served on the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board from 2007 to 2013 and was an active member of the Lincoln University Alumni Association.

Scientifically, Dr Keoghan was involved with the Tara Hills research station. He bypassed establishment issues to identify the productive suitability of a large range of conventional and alternative species options in various landscapes, environments and management conditions, by transplanting seedlings directly into the ground. Notable outcomes from this innovative work were the suitability of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) to dry and difficult soils where conventional clovers would not persist and the ability of Caucasian clover (Trifolium ambiguum) to persist and spread under a range of grazing regimes. 

Dr Keoghan was involved in on-farm investigative development trials and paddock-scale demonstrations at numerous high-country locations highlighting the most appropriate pasture species across different environments. 

He secured Meat Research and Development Council (MRDC) funding to help develop and extend this work producing many practical publications and field days, with the most notable being on Shepherds' Flat, Earnscleugh Station in 1991. 

Dr Keoghan authored and co-authored several notable publications including: 

• Native and low-input grasses - A New Zealand high country perspective 
• Pasture legumes for the drought-prone, outwash soils of the southern Mackenzie Basin 
• A guide to pastures and pasture species for the New Zealand high country 
• More persistent legumes and grasses for oversown tussock county 
• Pasture species for drought-prone lower slopes in the South Island high country 
• Evaluation of the agronomic potential of pasture legume introductions on droughty outwash soils