WHAT IS AI(Live)?

OUR SPEAKERS

Liz has enjoyed a varied clinical career, including mixed practice, small animal internship, small animal GP, ECC and shelter medicine.

Throughout her career, she has always been curious about challenges facing the profession. Liz joined VET.CT as Head of Communications in 2021, which provides remote specialist support to veterinary teams globally through technology. Both as a clinician and as part of her role, she has explored themes around the future of veterinary practice and responsible advancement of the profession, including co-authoring a white paper on artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine. She has since spoken and written globally on a range of AI topics, including ethics, responsible development and adoption, applications in clinical practice, and the potential impacts on sustainability and team wellbeing.

LIZ BARTON

Jude L. Capper, PhD DSc (h.c.) FRAgS is the ABP Chair and Professor of Sustainable Beef and Sheep Systems at Harper Adams University; and is an independent Livestock Sustainability Consultant.

Jude's research focuses on modeling the sustainability of livestock production systems, specifically dairy, beef and sheep. She is currently working on projects relating to on-farm greenhouse gas emissions from UK beef and sheep production and the impacts of livestock health on system sustainability. Jude is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Butchers; Vice-Chair of the National Beef Association and Chair of the Route Panel for Agriculture, Environment and Animal Care at IfATE. In 2021, Jude was awarded an honorary doctorate (DSc honoris causa) by HAU; and the Sir John Hammond Award by the British Society of Animal Science and British Cattle Breeders Club, both in recognition of her contributions to the UK livestock industry.

JUDE CAPPER

Keith is a Director at Huddlestone Farmers Ltd. having begun his career outside of agriculture with Imperial Tobacco and at Genus ABS before moving home. He is currently responsible for 700 milking cows across two robotic milking herds in West Sussex, within the family business.

In the past three years Keith has installed 12 Lely Milking Robots and 3 Lely Manure Collectors. Performance has significantly improved following the adoption of new technologies, with average yields of 40+kgs/cow/day & over 3kgs CFP/cow/day whilst successfully reducing the number of low skilled roles within the team. Consistently at the top of the PLI genetic rankings; genetics remains a cornerstone of the dairy. The aim of the dairies at Huddlestone is to help the cows to express themselves to the best of their ability. The Huddlestone philosophy is that cows do what they want to do, when they want to do it. We are just here to support them as well as we possibly can.

KEITH GUE

Dr Edward Thomas Jones comes from a farming family background and grew up on a beef and sheep farm on Anglesey, North Wales.

He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor Business School, Bangor University, with professional experience of working in the private and public sector at a senior level. Edward is Director of the Institute of European Finance (IEF) research centre, a Non-Executive Director at Wales only dedicated science park (M-SParc), and Chairman of Cymdeithas Elusennol Ynys Mon, an Anglesey-based grant-making charity. He is a 2020 Nuffield Scholar (sponsored by Royal Welsh Agricultural Society) and his study explored and evaluated the AgriTech vision of investors, entrepreneurs, farmers, and policymakers.

DR EDWARD JONES

Johnny is the Stakeholder Engagement Lead for MSD Animal Health in GB.

Johnny joined the Allflex business in 2017 as National Sales Manager following an 18-year career focussed on the Scottish livestock and red meat industries, including roles with NFU Scotland, Quality Meat Scotland and the Luing Cattle Society. Following the acquisition of Allflex by MSD Animal Health in 2019, Johnny’s role covered After-Sales, Market Access and Public Policy. He is a graduate of Aberdeen University in Biological Sciences of Agriculture. Johnny lives in Blairgowrie, Perthshire with his wife Susie and their three teenage sons Fergie, Sandy and Euan. They run a commercial beef and sheep breeding farm and in his spare time Johnny enjoys distance running and following the mighty Dundee United FC.

JOHNNY MACKEY

Grace is Head of External Affairs at the UK Agri-Tech Centre (UKATC) where her role is focused on policy and engagement with government, industry and academia to accelerate the development and adoption of agri-tech innovation.

This involves working with innovative businesses to support their growth and deliver solutions to market that support resilient and sustainable agricultural systems.

Grace has experience across agriculture including livestock health and welfare, the veterinary medicines sector and the research and innovation landscape. She qualified with a PhD in animal functional genomics and a degree in Veterinary Medicine from University College Dublin and is a Nuffield Farming Scholar. Her previously roles included Head of Innovation and Animal Health Specialist at the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) and Senior Technical Policy Manager at the National Office of Animal Health (NOAH), representing the UK veterinary medicine sector.

DR GRACE O'GORMAN

From a varied agricultural background in cropping, David moved into poultry farming when he purchased a broiler farm in 2004.

David successfully scaled his poultry business and has since gone on to establish a global artificial intelligence (Ai) business, Optifarm, focusing on why both poultry and pigs around the world do what they do on farm.

David is passionate in applying AI to the management a wide range of flocks and herds, helping producers to understand how artificial intelligence allows us to take readily available, simple, farm sensor data and understand the root cause of issues. David uses AI to deliver meaningful insights that are understood, accepted and can be actioned by staff on farms, but also deliver value for the wider agricultural sector and its stakeholders.

DAVID SPELLER

My veterinary career began in farm animal practice in Yorkshire, followed by almost a decade working on One Health projects in lower-income countries. This experience led me into veterinary epidemiology — initially as a lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College, and later as part of the APHA team in Weybridge, where I led research and surveillance on foodborne zoonoses, endemic, and emerging diseases.

I was privileged to be a founding member of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Surrey, where I developed the Veterinary Health Innovation Engine (vHive) in partnership with Zoetis. I now provide independent consultancy services in animal health and serve on both the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food and the Trade and Agriculture Commission.

We are living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, in which the fusion of digital, biological, and physical systems is reshaping every aspect of life. In the dairy sector, for example, automated health monitoring is improving welfare, productivity, and sustainability. I am a passionate advocate for the responsible and intelligent adoption of digital technologies — including artificial intelligence — for the benefit of animals and wider society.

PROFESSOR ALASDAIR COOK

Jasmeet Kaler is a Professor of Epidemiology and Precision Livestock Informatics at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, UK. She leads the Ruminant Population Health Research Group and serves as Chair of the Centre for Dairy Science Innovation.

Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the use and development of novel precision technologies for cattle and sheep, utilizing cutting-edge predictive analytical tools, including machine learning, to understand, predict, and monitor livestock behaviour, disease, welfare, personality, and resilience.

She also explores responsible innovation, particularly stakeholder attitudes and decision-making, especially around technology. Professor Kaler sits on the Bioscience for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Strategy Advisory Panel and has authored over 100 publications in the field. She has secured significant research funding, with a wide portfolio of UKRI grants and research partnerships with various technology companies.

JASMEET KALER

James Greevy is a passionate farmer from the west of Ireland with a background in Animal Science and a deep commitment to agricultural innovation. As Director of Product at Herdwatch and a Founding Board Member of AgTech Ireland, James plays a key role in shaping the future of digital agriculture both on the ground and at the policy level.

At Herdwatch, he leads the development and execution of a transformative product portfolio designed to digitalise and optimise the livestock sector. Under his leadership, Herdwatch has grown into a trusted technology partner for over 22,000 beef, dairy, and sheep farmers across Ireland, the UK, and North America. The platform includes:

Herdwatch App
Enterprise & Sustainability Analytics
Herdwatch Vet

Most recently, James has overseen the launch of Herd Intelligence (Herdi), a natural language-powered interface that allows intuitive interaction with complex agricultural data — enabling faster, smarter decisions across the supply chain.

With a unique dual perspective as both a product leader and active farmer, James brings credibility, technical insight, and real-world pragmatism to the agtech conversation. He is driven by a singular mission: to make farming simpler, more data-informed, and sustainably profitable for producers and supply chain partners alike.

JAMES GREEVY

Jeff Bradshaw joined Oxbury Earth as Managing Director in April 2023. He is responsible for bringing the SaaS products to market and expanding the offerings into new markets. Jeff has a passion for all things data, integration and AI related. He enjoys pushing the boundaries with new technologies.

Prior to Oxbury, Jeff was Head of Global Technology (CTO) at TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods where he was responsible for Software Engineering, IT, security and compliance operations across the globe.
Before joining TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods, Jeff was Chief Technology Officer at Proagrica for five years. Previously, he spent 16 years in the same capacity at Adaptris, an integration software and consultancy firm he co-founded in 1998 and was acquired by RELX(Proagrica). Jeff led the development of a Gartner Magic Quadrant leading iPaaS platform and has also contributed to a number of open-source software products. He has also advised large companies in a variety of sectors, including Bayer, British Airways, British Telecommunications, UK MOD, and Carrefour.
Jeff previously served on the board of directors for AgGateway, a global, non-profit organization whose members develop standards and other resources so that companies can rapidly access information. In 2020, he earned a PhD Computer Science from the University of Hertfordshire and he has a bachelor’s degree in computer science and cybernetics from the University of Reading.

JEFF BRADSHAW

Jonathan Statham is Chief Executive at RAFT Solutions and Professor of Sustainable Livestock Health & Welfare at Harper and Keele Veterinary School, chairing the InSHAW research group there.

He is a practicing independent farm veterinary surgeon, graduating from Cambridge University in 1996 and is a partner and chair of Bishopton Veterinary Group. Jonathan is a Fellow and Specialist of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons; in 2015 he was awarded the UK Dairy Vet of the year. He is Past-President of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA), has held a range of representative or policy linked roles and currently sits on the Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) of the VMD, the steering group of the Ruminant Health & Welfare Group and the EU ‘Q fever’ one health panel. He is chair of the Innovate UK Agriculture Sector Group and chair of the Defra Pathway Chairs Group. He is a Fellow of Askham Bryan College and chairs the Animal Health & Welfare Board for England at Defra. He has published widely in the field of sustainable food, herd health, precision livestock farming and breeding technologies.

JONATHAN STATHAM

Simon Pearson is Professor of Agri-Food Technology at the University of Lincoln, where he leads the School of Agri-Food Technology and Manufacturing and founded the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology (LIAT). LIAT has secured over £110 million in funding, pioneering AI, robotics, and digital technologies for agriculture. It was awarded the 2023 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its impact.

Simon brings a diverse blend of academic and commercial expertise. Before joining academia, he spent 17 years in industry, including roles as Produce Technologist at Marks & Spencer and running a farming company.

He is a member of the Food Standards Agency’s Science Council, advising on the responsible and safe application of AI in the food system, and Chairs the Advisory Board of the £100M Innovate UK BridgeAI programme. His leadership spans policy, research, and innovation, including co-chairing the Defra Automation Review with the Secretary of State.

Simon’s work sits at the interface of science, technology, and industry—aiming to drive the transformation of agriculture through intelligent automation and ethical AI.

PROFESSOR SIMON PEARSON

Adam is the Data Programmes Associate Director at the AHDB – a non-commercial, levy-funded independent body at the heart of UK agriculture. In this position, he leads the organisations’ larger data systems & projects, and the cross-cutting industry initiatives in that space.

Adam has over 20 years’ experience in IT engineering, architecture & delivery. Much of his experience has been across large infrastructure & data programmes in both public & private sector including; roles at ATOS, IBM, the Home Office, and the MOD. Alongside his considerable IT background, Adam has also had connections with farming since 2002, including on his own small farming enterprise in Mid-Devon. Adam was a co-founder in an agri-software start-up in 2019, looking specifically at the challenges of genetic diversity in pedigree livestock breeds, and making that data more accessible to breeders, to inform their breeding decisions. Adam is a strong advocate for farmer control of data sharing across the industry, decentralised data sharing, and the need for a true federated data governance model for the industry.

ADAM SHORT

Danny Chambers is a veterinary surgeon and Member of Parliament with a long-standing commitment to animal welfare, public health, and evidence-based policymaking. With years of hands-on experience in veterinary practice, Danny brings a genuine and practical perspective to national conversations about food systems, farming, and the ethical use of technology.

A passionate advocate for animal health and wellbeing, Danny has successfully pushed through a Private Member’s Bill to ban the illegal puppy trade — a landmark step in tackling puppy smuggling and improving standards of animal welfare across the UK. His work in Parliament continues to reflect his profound commitment to compassion, science, and transparency.

At AI(Live), Danny will explore how political leadership can support the responsible use of AI and data in farming and veterinary medicine, helping to build a future where technology serves both ethical and environmental goals. With his unique background bridging clinical practice and policy, Danny offers valuable insight into how innovation and regulation must go hand in hand.

DANNY CHAMBERS MP

Gemma Norman is Senior Research Director and Head of EU Livestock Customer Insights at Kynetec, a global leader in data, analytics & insights in agriculture, animal health & nutrition and sustainability.

With over 15 years of experience in livestock market research, Gemma has supported clients in developing insight-driven strategies that foster innovation across the dairy, beef, and sheep sectors.

At AI Live, Gemma will share insights from a UK farmer survey exploring how artificial intelligence, data, and sensor technologies are being used in livestock management. Her presentation offers a grounded, farmer-focused perspective on how these emerging tools are being adopted on farms today.

Gemma’s connection to the industry runs deep—she grew up on a dairy farm and has hands-on experience with beef, sheep, and dairy operations. This background gives her a unique lens through which she interprets farmer sentiment and the real-world impact of technology.

She’s passionate about livestock farming and committed to ensuring that farmer voices remain central in the evolution of smart agriculture.

GEMMA NORMAN

Hugh manages his family farm near Dorking in Surrey, rearing Angus cattle.

His farming philosophy is to be an early adopter of successful genetics, management systems and technologies to ‘lead the herd’ in British livestock production. Hugh is known as the “voice of farming” as the host of the Farmer Weekly podcast and has served on a number of NFU regional and National representative committees including livestock boards. A passionate communicator with a clear view and vision of the direction of UK farming, Hugh will bring his insight to the future AI will bring to his farming operation.

HUGH BROOM

Dan Sodergren is a renowned technology futurist, media commentator, and advocate for digital inclusion and ethical AI. A former BBC tech expert and regular contributor to outlets like Channel 4 News, The Guardian, and the BBC, Dan brings big ideas to life with energy, clarity, and optimism.

As a co-founder of several tech startups and a passionate believer in the power of innovation to transform lives, Dan is on a mission to make emerging technologies accessible, inclusive, and human-centred. Whether advising businesses, mentoring founders, or challenging policymakers, he helps people understand not just what the future holds, but how to shape it.

At AI(Live), Dan will take to the stage to explore how artificial intelligence can be a force for good, in food, farming, and beyond. Expect insight, inspiration, and a call to action on how we build a future that’s not only smarter, but fairer.

Don't miss the chance to hear one of the UK’s most dynamic tech voices live at the Science Museum in London, 23rd September.

DAN SODERGREN