Announcing the 2018 Nuffield International Scholars

Active in production agriculture, Artur manages Sapé Agropastoril Ltda, a 5,500ha operation that produces soybeans, corn, oats, beef cattle, Brangus genetic production (registered bulls, cows and embryos), sugar cane, poultry, dairy cattle and technological tourism with a team of 38 employees. He is also a business partner at a consulting company focused on agribusiness management.

Artur graduated in Agribusiness Management at the Federal University of Viçosa-MG, has a MBA in Strategic Management of Agribusiness at Fundação Getúlio Vergas (FGV) and a postgraduate degree in Strategic Business Leadership at Ohio University in the United States. In addition, he has specific training in people management, strategic planning and balanced scorecard (BSC).

As a Nuffield Scholar, Artur will investigate how the diversification of production, as well as its integration, is happening in different agribusiness players of the world. His goal of this work is to create benchmarking models for producers of all production scales and scopes.

Nufarm Brasil is supporting Artur’s scholarship.

Currently earning his Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, Brian has extensive experience on the farm and in the engineering lab. As co-owner of a 170 cow/250 acre dairy near Waukon, IA, Brian has managed both animal husbandry and crop production, including corn, alfalfa, oats and cereal rye, as well as pastureland.

In addition to his on-farm work, Brian has an Associate Degree in Farm Management from Ellsworth Community College (IA), a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecological Engineering from Oregon State University, and is completing his Master’s program at Iowa State. As part of his studies, Brian is investigating the effects of cropping management practices on soil health and nutrient losses to agricultural tile drainage water.

As a Nuffield Scholar, Brian is looking to study the intersection of soil health, water quality, and agricultural management practices, with a focus on the fundamental importance of soil health to agricultural sustainability, and related global efforts to regenerate agricultural soils.

Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Pork Producers Association, National Pork Producers Board, and the Iowa Farm Bureau are jointly supporting this Nuffield International scholarship.

Jean Lonie is the managing partner of Paladin Agricultural Consulting Services, and working as the Relationship Manager for Nuffield International. Her professional background spans the public, private, and non-profit sectors in agriculture, with an emphasis on leadership development, education, and communications/outreach.

Adjacent to her Nuffield experience and report, Jean earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Extension Education from Penn State University. Her study explored the perceived public value contribution of Nuffield Scholars.

Jean served as Director of Student Recruitment and Activities for the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State; was senior manager of marketing communications for the U.S. beef segment at Zoetis; and was executive assistant to the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture and director of communications for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Her professional background also includes marketing and communications efforts for Farm Journal Media, the U.S. Holstein Association, the School District of Philadelphia, and American Mushroom Institute.

A Pennsylvania native, Jean currently resides in the Austin, Texas region.

Mauro is a partner in the family tilapia business, consisting of a production farm, processing plant, and distribution arm. In addition to processing the nearly 2,000 tonnes of tilapia per year produced on their farms, they receive product from third-party farmers and a cooperative that the family was instrumental in establishing. Tilapia fillets are mainly sold wholesale, and byproducts such as fish meal and fish oil are also commercialised.

Mauro is a founding member and Treasurer since 2015 of PeixeBR, the national fish farming industry group, and a member of COMPESCA and SIPESP, key state-level fish farming organisations. Mauro has a Bachelor degree in Economics at University Sao Paulo and studied at the Wageningen University in Holland through the Erasmus program.

As a Nuffield Scholar, Mauro will investigate ways to accelerate the development of Brazil’s fish farming sector, taking into account efficient production systems, genetics, scalability of systems, value-adding and managing water quality.

Grupo Bom Futuro is supporting this scholarship. This is the organization’s first Nuffield scholarship.

A farmer from North Carolina, Archie is the assistant manager for Griffin AG LLC, a farming operation that grows corn, wheat and soybeans for storage and marketing along with other value-added crops. In addition to this work on the family operation, Archie’s background includes experience in the small grain breeding department at North Carolina State University, field-based research work with the USDA Agricultural Research Services (ARS), and management of his own sweet corn production and distribution operation. Archie holds a Bachelor of Science in Plant and Soil Science from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration from East Carolina University.

As a Nuffield Scholar, Archie is interested in studying farming and technology, looking at the transformational ways crops are sustainably planted, cultivated and brought to market through innovation and advanced technologies.

Archie is active in the agriculture community in North Carolina, and a graduate of the North Carolina Agricultural Leadership Development Program, operated by North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture and TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture II are supporting this Nuffield International scholarship with the 3 previous International Scholarships they have supported having been awarded to scholars from Brazil.

Victor Monseff de Almeida Campos from the Sao Paulo state of Brazil, receives the inaugural Nuffield International Scholarship supported by Biotrigo, CHT and Nuffield Scholars. Victor is a business partner in his family’s scientific agricultural analysis laboratory, he produces coffee and cattle and he works as farm consultant with a focus on sustainable coffee production and coffee quality.

He will study how we can improve soil and agricultural analysis techniques and systems to measure the health of our soil and plants that inform producers about more sustainable ways to manage our agricultural production.

Victor graduated in Agronomic Engineering at UNESP Campus Jaboticabal, has a MBA in Agribusiness at PECEGE/USP and a Specialization in Soil Manegement at ESALQ/USP. He also has a Masters in Coffee Economics and Science at University of Trieste in Italy.

"While recognizing the importance of developing new products, new technologies and things that can be sold, I see a lack of people focused on how to systematically measure the quality and health of our soils and plants. There is a lot to learn about the life and health in our soils, and to work together to standardise some of the newer – and cheaper and faster - analysis techniques that are coming into the market."

Victor plans to travel to Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, China, USA, Argentina and the African sub-continent to conduct his Nuffield research.