GAIAC Leadership

Gary Coukell, Chairman

Gary Coukell is the General Manager of ICMS, a contract research organization that conducts field and greenhouse research out of four research stations across western Canada, primarily to generate data that is submitted to support product registration or label expansion, product safety and/or marketing goals.  ICMS provides Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)-compliant crop, soil/TFD, and DFR residue studies and is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada under OECD GLP standards. Gary is a Past President of the NAICC and has over 30 years of experience in agricultural research and development of new crop varieties, pesticides, biologicals, biostimulants, fertilizers, RNAi, novel plants and supplements and many other products.  Gary has extensive experience with OECD, GLP, PMRA and CFIA registration requirements and has direct experience with or has overseen research in in a wide range of cropping systems including small grains, oilseeds, pulses, row crops, forages, turf, vegetables, fruits, and industrial sites.

 Qualifications/Affiliations 

  • Masters of Science (Plant Science)
  • Graduate of the Mid-Management Program, Asper School of Business
  • Professional Agrologist with the Manitoba Institute of Agrology
  • Director of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants
  • Director of the Global Alliance of Independent Agricultural Consultants
  • Member of the Canadian Weed Science Society

 Areas of Expertise 

  • Crop protection research
  • Agronomic assessment of breeding lines
  • Biotech studies and confined trial management
  • GLP compliant field and greenhouse studies
  • GLP report writing
  • Canadian regulatory requirements
  • Trained and experienced Study Director.
  • Project Management
  • Training and development of research staff
  • Extension projects

Fernando (Din Din) Rodrigues Alves Martins, Vice Chair

Fernando Martins (AKA DinDin), is an Agronomist Engineer and a co-owner of Agroexata, an independent crop consultant company, specialized in precision farming, and in business since 2000. It is the second independent consultant company to use precision farming tools and is now the oldest still working in Brazil, with more than one million hectares sampled.

After graduating, DinDin took care of the family farms in Mato Grosso do Sul, raising beef cattle, and in 2003 joined Henrique Dobashi, his classmate, at Agroexata. He has been working with soil fertility, precision farming and crop consultants ever since, mostly with soybean and corn, but also with a significant variety of crops, including cotton, sorghum, sunflower, garlic, coffee and potato.

DinDin also oversees an internship program for undergrad ag students called PrEA (Agroexata Internship Program), that now comprises more than 70 internships per year, on farms in Brazil and also abroad.

Qualifications and Affiliations:

  • Agronomist Engineer – ESALQ-USP, Agriculture College of University of São Paulo
  • GAIAC Member since 2016
  • Chair of the Brazilian Association of Precision Agriculture Service Providers

Areas of Expertise:

  • Soil Fertility
  • Crop Nutrient Management
  • GPS based Precision Application, Guidance and Sampling Systems
  • GPS/GIS Mapping Services and Management

Patrick Stephenson, Secretary/Treasurer
Patrick has been a practicing Independent Agricultural Consultant for over 25 years. He has worked in East Anglia, the East Midlands and for the last 20 years in the North of England. His company provides advice on 8,000 ha of combinable crops and he is the Northern Regional Agronomist for the NIAB TAG group. In 2003 he was awarded the Reed publishing ‘Agronomist of The Year’ and in 2007 ‘The Arable Advisor of the Year’. He is a past Chairman of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants and is currently a serving board member of the Global Alliance of Independent Agricultural Consultants. –Crops he advices on are Wheat, Barley, Oats, Canola, Beans, Peas and Linseed.
Patrick is current owner of Patrick Stephenson Limited and Arable advisor.com

Education, Qualifications and Professional Affiliations:
• Honors degree in Agriculture from Newcastle University.
• Certified member of the BASIS professional register.
• Certified member of the FACTS fertilser accreditation Scheme
• Soil and Water Diploma
• Biodiversity and integrated pest management diploma
• Treasurer of the Global Alliance of Independent Agricultural Consultants (GAIAC)
• Member and Past Chairman of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (UK)
• Member of the executive board for UK Professional Agricultural Development (BASIS)

Areas of Expertise:
• General Management
• Crop Nutrient Management
• Integrated Pest Management and Crop Protection
• Soil classification
• GPS/GIS Mapping Services and Management
• Crop Research: Efficacy, Varietal, and Nutrient Strip Trials
• Planning and development
• Professional Training and Guest Speaking

Gordon Stone, Director
Gordon is the owner and founder of the Agri-Business Development Institute, a private consulting business which mentors farming, grazing and service industry business owners, managers and leaders through their business expansion plans.  He is a master facilitator and business strategist.

ABDI’s direct consulting and group business development programs focus on the ABDI 12x Pillars of business growth.

Clients operate throughout the Australian grains, cotton, horticultural, irrigation and livestock sectors.  They include small to medium enterprises, national agribusinesses and public sector organisations.  Team members also trouble shoot businesses with growing pains or to resolve internal problems – and more recently, looking to export globally from Australia.

Gordon has managed a national program attracting young people into agriculture and specifically a young cotton professionals program.  Prior to this role, his focus was on ‘delivering research results to farmers’ working with national R&D corporations and multinationals.

He is co-director of QualDATA, a company that evaluates the effectiveness of R&D programs.

Qualification/Affiliations:

  • Bachelor of Applied Science (Biology)
  • Member: Asia Pacific Extension Network
  • Board Member: GAIAC
  • Committee Chair: NAICC International Outreach Committee
  • Adjunct Associate Professor – International Centre for Applied Climate Sciences, University of Southern Queensland

Areas of Expertise:

  • Group Facilitation
  • Managing Change
  • Business Mentoring/Coaching – of Business Owners through Business Expansion
  • Business Strategy Development
  • Client and Industry Engagement
  • Corporate Presentations
  • Extension of R&D Results
  • Maximising the role of the Private Sector in R&D Adoption
  • Evaluating the Effectiveness of Projects and Programs – Including ROI.

Al Averitt, Director
Al Averitt has operated as an independent production agricultural consultant and researcher for over 27 years in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States serving large family farms in some of the most productive agricultural counties of the southeast. Al has worked alongside national and state governmental agencies, land grant university personnel and non-profit research organizations on numerous projects. Al has also owned and operated a farm (North Carolina recognized Centennial Family Farm) for 20 years and an ornamental tree nursery for 11 years. Some of the crops that he has provided pest and nutrient services and research for include: cotton, flue-cured tobacco, sweet potato, soybean, wheat, grain sorghum, corn, melons, strawberries, cucurbits, and turfgrass.
Al is the president and owner of Protech Advisory Services Inc. and Back Road Farms Nursery.

Education, Qualifications and Professional Affiliations:
• Associate of Science, Field Crops Technologies (NCSU)
• Associate of Science, General Agronomy (NCSU)
• Biology, core curriculum completed for BS per USDA (PSU)
• Licensed Agricultural Consultant by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture
• Certified Professional Crop Consultant- Independent (CPCC-I) by NAICC
• Vice-Chairman of the Global Alliance of Independent Agricultural Consultants (GAIAC)
• Member and Past President of the North Carolina Agricultural Consultants Association (NCACA)
• Member and Past President of the USA based National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants (NAICC)
• Other Associations member: NC Nursery and Landscaper Association, Crop Protection Association, NC Turfgrass Association

Areas of Expertise:
• General Management
• Crop Nutrient Management
• Integrated Pest Management and Crop Protection
• Global GAP and GAP Audit Services
• GPS/GIS Mapping Services and Management
• Crop Research: Efficacy, Varietal, and Nutrient Strip Trials
• Agricultural Equipment Design, Setup, and Calibration
• GPS based Precision Application, Guidance and Sampling Systems
• Professional Training and Guest Speaking

Jim Steffel, Past Chairman