"To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of the soil."
- Xenophon, Ancient Greek Philosopher
Microbial Diversity: Soil Engineers of Fertility
15th January 2026
Our Speakers:
Ademir Calegari is a world-renowned expert in cover crops and soil science with more than 40 years advancing regenerative agriculture & sustainable farming systems.
Rocío Barros is a professor of edaphology at the University of Burgos and a leading researcher in Tribiome.
Ieva Erdberga is a professor and researcher at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, specializing in soil and plant sciences and sustainable agriculture.
Support material:
TRIBIOME project: http://www.tribiome.eu
PHYBi: PHytomanagement for a Bio-Based Textile Industry: www.phybi.eu
Elcio L. Balota, Ademir Calegari, Andre S. Nakatani, Mark S. Coyne, Benefits of winter cover crops and no-tillage for microbial parameters in a Brazilian Oxisol: A long-term study, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.07.010
Microbiome Insights: Smart Tools for Soil Decisions
22th January 2026
Our Speakers:
Joana Cruz is a Soil Health & Function Laboratory Manager at Food4Sustainability, proficient in plant-associated microbial communities and sustainable soil management.
Alan Evans is the Technical Director at A2 Análises Químicas, expert in agricultural lab analyses and sustainable agronomy.
Ruth Pereira is an Associate Professor at FCUP, Director of GreenUPorto and Head of LABRISK, specializing in soil and water risk assessment and environmental ecotoxicology.
Living Soil Reloaded: Inoculation, Allies & Acceleration
29th January 2026
Our Speakers:
Paula Castro is a professor at Universidade Católica Portuguesa, highly experienced in plant-microbe solutions for soil restoration and microbiome-based ecosystem sustainability.
Anita Perkins is a Mycological Biogeochemist & researcher at the Aquatic Botany & Microbial Ecology Research Group of the HUN-REN Balaton Limnological Research Institute.
David R. Montgomery & Anne Biklé are a husband and-wife team who write about agriculture, soil health, food and microbiomes. He is an award-winning geomorphologist and she a biology-trained science writer.
Support material:
Microbiomes Matter Report - https://centerforfoodsafety.org/reports/7018/microbiomes-matter
Montgomery DR, Biklé A, Archuleta R, Brown P, Jordan J. 2022. Soil health and nutrient density: preliminary comparison of regenerative and conventional farming. PeerJ 10:e12848 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12848