Stepping into STEP UP: FIRST STAKEHOLDER GATHERING!

Prof. David Kenny, the Head of the Teagasc Animal and Bioscience Research Department in Ireland. He has over 25 years of research experience in the biological control of a range of economically important traits to ruminant livestock production systems, including growth and reproductive efficiency, ruminal methanogenesis and the development and functionality of the rumen microbiome. He is the current president of the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS), president of the Physiology Study Commission of the European Association of Animal Production and a member of the management board of the international scientific journal, Animal. He has led many large research consortia and is currently the coordinator of the recently awarded €5m Horizon Europe project, ‘Towards sustainable livestock systems: European platform for evidence building and transitioning policy (STEP UP)’.

Ana Granados Chapatte, Director of the European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders (EFFAB)
Ana has over 20 years of experience in EU animal breeding, farming, and sustainable food production policy. She holds a degree in Animal Science from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and is the director of EFFAB, as well as Secretary General of FABRE TP. FABRE TP promotes research and innovation in animal genetics and reproduction and engages with EU policymakers. Ana is also a vice president of the Animal Task Force, a public-private partnership promoting livestock research in the EU, working closely with organisations like FAO.

Arnd Bassler, Research Officer, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), Germany. Arnd Arnd Bassler, Research Officer, Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), Germany. Arnd Bassler is working with European research affairs, particularly concerning the sustainability of livestock farming systems. He is also secretary of the Collaborative Working Group on Sustainable Animal Production under the SCAR. Arnd has a BSc in crop production from the University of Applied Sciences in Kiel, Germany, an MSc in Ecological Agriculture from Wageningen University and a PhD in Animal Sciences from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Ines Rivelli, PhD in Animal Sciences (2019), specializes in ruminant nutrition and management towards sustainable production. She worked as a research assistant at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA) and then worked in industry in Latin America before joining the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Granada, Spain, as a postdoctoral researcher.

Ryan McGuire, Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast. Ryan McGuire is specializing in areas related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His work focuses on smart rural development initiatives to address poverty and social isolation, as well as modelling climate change impacts on livestock production, supporting global efforts to protect the planet and promote prosperity.

Elodie Merlot (agronomist, PhD, HDR) is a research scientist from INRAE, the French National Institute for Research in Agriculture, Nutrition and Environment. After completing her agricultural engineering studies and PhD, Elodie began working at INRAE in 2004, focusing on animal welfare and health. She studies how the physical and social environment of farm animals, along with rearing practices, affect their physiology and immune function. Her work includes research on prenatal and social stress in pigs and projects targeting issues in organic farming. Elodie aims to propose new rearing practices that promote animal health and welfare from an agroecological perspective.