Healthy Animals, Resilient Farms: A Transatlantic Dialogue on Animal Health and Welfare – Virtual Conference on September 30, 2026
How can Germany and the United States work together to shape the future of animal health and welfare in the swine and poultry industries? At a time of changing consumer expectations, growing biosecurity challenges, and increasing pressure on producers, the Transatlantic Dialogue on Animal Health and Welfare will bring together farmers, veterinarians, scientists, industry representatives, and policy makers from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss practical approaches and opportunities for cooperation.
The event will present the national and transatlantic policy recommendations developed by the fourth cohort of the U.S.-German Forum Future Agriculture and place them in the broader context of national policy debates and transatlantic agricultural cooperation. Drawing on perspectives from Germany and the United States, the discussion will explore how animal welfare improvements, resilient animal health systems, and greater transparency between producers and consumers can be advanced in ways that are practical, science-based, and economically feasible.
Some of our speakers include Sen. Thom Tillis, U.S. Senator for North Carolina, Ted McKinney, Chief Executive Officer of National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and former USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Dr. Franziska Kersten, Member of German Parliament and Member of the Committee on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity and Dr. Katharina Kluge, Chief Veterinary Officer of Germany at the Ministry on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity.
If you would like to participate please send an email to eimler@aspeninstitute.de.
A copy with the biographies of our speakers is available here. A recording will be available here after the conference.
Speakers and Moderators:
Opening:
- Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner
- Executive Director | Aspen Institute Germany
- Mary Arends-Kuenning
- Associate Dean | ACES Office of International Programs, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Transatlantic Remarks:
- Dr. Franziska Kersten, MdB
- Member of the German Bundestag (SPD), Agricultural Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group and Rapporteur | Committee on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (Photo © Richard Hübner)
- Sen. Thom Tillis
- U.S. Senator for North Carolina, Republican
Panel: From Outbreaks to Resilience: Strengthening Animal Health and Biosecurity Across the Atlantic
- Dr. Michelle M. Colby
- National Program Leader for Animal Biosecurity | Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
- Dr. Karyn Havas
- National Program Leader | Animal Health (NP 103) | USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
- Kelsey Holtz
- Owner/Operator | Diekmann Farms (Minnesota) and participant in the U.S.-German Forum Future Agriculture
- Dr. Franziska Kersten, MdB
- Member of the German Bundestag (SPD), Agricultural Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group and Rapporteur | Committee on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (Photo © Richard Hübner)
- Dr. Katharina Kluge
- Head of Subdivision 32 “Animal Health, Animal Welfare” | Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity and Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), WOAH Delegate
- Prof. Sascha Knauf, PhD habil.
- Director | Institute of International Animal Health/One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute
Keynote:
- Ted McKinney
- CEO | National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and former USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs
Panel: From Policy to Barn: Practical Approaches to Animal Welfare Improvement Across the Atlantic
- Dr. Courtney Archer
- Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare | Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Dr. Mavis Boimah
- Research Scientist | Thünen Institute of Farm Economics
- Julius Ehmann
- Partial Owner, Co-CEO and Production Manager | Ehmann Hagenauer Hof KG
- Collette Kaster, M.S.
- Executive Director | Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO)
- Christy Puffenbarger
- Vice President of Technical Services | Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. and Chairwoman of the National Turkey Federation (NTF)
- Stephanie Wetter
- Director of Animal Welfare | National Pork Board
Agenda
*Times are listed below as CEST (Berlin).
| 4:00 – 4:05 p.m. | Opening Dr. Stormy-Annika Mildner – Executive Director | Aspen Institute Germany Mary Arends-Kuenning – Associate Dean | ACES Office of International Programs, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign |
| 4:05 – 4:10 p.m. | Transatlantic Remarks Dr. Franziska Kersten, MdB – Member of the German Bundestag (SPD), Agricultural Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group and Rapporteur | Committee on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity Sen. Thom Tillis – U.S. Senator for North Carolina, Republican (short video message) |
| 4:10 – 4:55 p.m. | Panel: From Outbreaks to Resilience: Strengthening Animal Health and Biosecurity Across the Atlantic Dr. Michelle M. Colby – National Program Leader for Animal Biosecurity | Division of Animal Systems, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Dr. Karyn Havas – Co-Leader | USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Program 103: Animal Health Kelsey Holtz – Owner/Operator | Diekmann Farms (Minnesota) and participant in the U.S.-German Forum Future Agriculture Dr. Franziska Kersten, MdB – Member of the German Bundestag (SPD), Agricultural Policy Spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group and Rapporteur | Committee on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity Dr. Katharina Kluge – Head of Subdivision 32 “Animal Health, Animal Welfare” | Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity and Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO) of Germany Prof. Sascha Knauf, PhD habil. – Director | Institute of International Animal Health/One Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute |
| 4:55 – 5:05 p.m. | Keynote Ted McKinney – Chief Executive Officer | National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and former USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs |
| 5:05 – 5:10 p.m. | Farm Tour Videos |
| 5:10 – 5:55 p.m. | Panel: From Policy to Barn: Practical Approaches to Animal Welfare Improvement Across the Atlantic Dr. Courtney Archer – Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior and Welfare | Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Dr. Mavis Boimah – Research Scientist | Thünen Institute of Farm Economics Julius Ehmann – Partial Owner, Co-CEO and Production Manager | Ehmann Hagenauer Hof KG Collette Kaster, M.S. – Executive Director | Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) Christy Puffenbarger – Vice President of Technical Services | Aviagen Turkeys, Inc. and Chairwoman of the National Turkey Federation (NTF) Stephanie Wetter – Director of Animal Welfare | National Pork Board |
| 5:55 – 6:00 p.m. | Closing Remarks |
The project is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany with funds from the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE).
Contact
Ferdinand Eimler
- Program Officer
- Phone: +49 (0) 30 804 890 16
- eimler@aspeninstitute.de
Petar Kostov
- Program Assistant
- Phone: +49 (0) 30 804 890 24
- kostov@aspeninstitute.de
