Thomas Gontier

Agronomist, viticulture freelance advisor. Since 1996, I have been dealing with sustainability and I am consultant for the management and protection of the vineyard for single Wineries and vine areas. Main themes since 2009: Carbon and Water Footprints; monitoring of biodiversity and health of soils; member of OIV Sustainability Commission and of Technical Committee of Equalitas (sustainability certification of wine sector).

I work on research projects for arable crops and forage. I manage projects but I also drive experiments on the field and analyse data coming from the project. One project I work on at the moment is on the adaptation of crops to climate change.

Emma Van Steenweghen is an Innovation Consultant at Boerenbond, the largest farmers’ organization in Flanders (Belgium). She holds a master’s degree in Agro- and Ecosystem Engineering and brings specialized expertise in circular economy, food loss reduction, healthy soil management, and carbon farming. With a strong background in European project management, Emma currently represents Boerenbond Projects (BBP) in initiatives such as Interreg NWE Smart Carbon Farming and INSOIL (EU, CBE-JU), where she contributes to advancing sustainable agricultural practices across Europe.

I am working at the French Livestock Institute, as an expert on dairy cow nutrition and feeding systems. I am in charge of regional, national and european projects delaing with milk production, feed-food competition, land use and carbonfootprint. On this last issue, providing efficient strategies to farmers for reducing methane emissions is a critical on-going work for the dairy industry. I am particularly involved in this research.

Master Degree in enviromental system sciences. Experienced project manager in international projects for bio-ressources. In the current position in the Department Energy, Climate and Bio-ressources at the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry in Styria I am responsible for National and International projects but also as an energy consultant for farmers in Styria.

20+ years experience advising on organic and agroforestry systems. Linked to UK agroforestry network and UK’s largest commercial agroforestry & LL on CFD project. Abacus is leading UK organic and agroforestry advisory and training service for farmers and ag professional. Abacus involved in developing Gov policy on organic and agroforestry at UK and EU levels. Experienced faciltitator of workshops and COP’s.

I obtained my first university diploma in animal nutritioning (more specifically, sport horses). I always considered my primary task to be helping farmers with knowledge transfer, within which agricultural advisory work, and the umbrella of my university provided an excellent opportunity. Among our biggest partners are beef cattle breeders, and the association of Hungarian buffalos, where forage production is highly relevant. In FAO projects I helped build AKIS systems and ICT platforms in several countries.

Herd management covers a broad spectrum of topics. Understanding which of these areas influence climate-smart farming practices is essential. What questions are still unresolved? And what valuable information exists but is rarely applied in day-to-day agricultural operations? For example, managing a herd of dairy cows presents many intriguing challenges. As an advisor, I am eager to contribute my expertise and perspectives. In this project, consolidating the knowledge that advisors can share is crucial. I am delighted to play a role in advancing herd management within this framework.

Paul is Head of the ADAS Soils & Nutrients Group. He is a Soil Scientist and Chartered Scientist, with over thirty years of research and advisory experience working on the interactions between land management practices and ecosystem service delivery. Paul joined ADAS in 2005 and was Scientific Coordinator of the Horizon 2020 SUPER-G project on Sustainable Permanent Grassland Systems and Policies (2018-24).

Master Degree in agricultural engineering. More than 20 years of experience in management of fertilization organisation in water protection zone. Eperience in urban water engineering and designation of new water protection areas at municipal level. Good knowledge of the legal situation of water protection areas, especially in Luxembourg. Many years of experience in EU projects (Interreg Grand-Region, Interreg NWE, Life+, Horizon Europe). Good knowledge of statistics.