PPILOW’s People: Sophie Herremans!

Hi, I’m Sophie Herremans from Wallonia, Belgium. I’ve been working at the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre as a researcher for 5 years. In 2019, I completed a PhD thesis on dairy cows feed efficiency. Currently, I conduct research on sheep grazing cover crops and the impact of this practice on nitrate leaching, weeds and yields of the next crop. I also work on farm animals welfare, especially pigs, but I will soon start to study welfare of chickens and turkeys as well. I’m a member of the Walloon Council for animal welfare which delivers opinions on various topics related to animal welfare by consensus between relevant actors. In the frame of the PPILOW project, I’m a facilitator of the Walloon Practitioner Group on pigs. This working group provides a true space of exchange between sector stakeholders about welfare in pig production systems. By collecting their feedback on PPILOW activities, it aims to ensure the adequacy between PPILOW outputs and stakeholders expectations.