Bianca Goncalves da Costa

My career goals are to work in the interface of industry and research sharing high-quality and accessible information to producers with the ultimate goal to increase efficiency, respecting natural resources, and at the same time balancing animal and human welfare.

My areas of interest reside helping to improve and restore our food systems, especially focusing on the “inside the gate” area. Farming is a special activity not only because it provides food, fiber, and fuel, but also because it interacts directly with natural resources and other living beings. Besides the image that some people might have of farming as a low technological activity, it actually requires a profound knowledge of a series of complex events that are happening inside animals, soil, and plants and the interactions between them, not forgetting how it can affect the wild fauna and flora that surround agricultural land.

Consumers are day after day more concerned about how food is produced and farmers are facing increased criticism of their practices. During my career, I want to work together with farmers helping them to identify opportunities to improve the social, environmental, and economical sustainability of their operations.

My background in animal health, as a veterinarian, and obtaining my master’s in sustainable international agriculture helped me to understand that animals, plants, and soil are, by themselves, complex systems, and integrating them also requires an integrative approach to solve problems. My current PhD project focus on investigating different options for farmers to raise dairy calves. A the end of the day there might not be a perfect system, but a system that fits better to a specific farm management, work culture, level of knowledge, and market demands. Also important is to recognize that farmers are experts in their fields and their knowledge and experience need to be taken into account when developing strategies to improve farm performance. I believe that we can always find good options that will meet different requirements, but compromises might need to be taken. As a future professional in animal agriculture, I hope to provide high-quality information to farmers through an open and inviting dialog, where our experiences with be exchanged to find the best solutions to improve farming practices and our food system.
I see myself working as an advisor/consultant in extension, at the same time collaborating and developing research as a project manager.