Laio Sobrinho

Laio Silva Sobrinho is the Research Manager at the TACLP. He manages and leads projects focusing on grazing management and pasture productivity — including their impacts on soil health and overall environmental sustainability. Laio specifically leads the fieldwork, data analysis and interpretation, reporting, grant writing, and knowledge transfer activities to producers through workshops, webinars, industry conferences and producer meetings.

Laio is also largely focused on the validation of technologies that can potentially help producers remotely manage cattle and monitor animal health and soil conditions. The technologies he studies include virtual fence collars, soil sensors, electric fence sensors, water level sensors, and animal ear tags.

Laio has always been interested and passionate about soil; he grew up in Brazil where his family raises beef cattle. He completed his undergraduate in Brazil in Forestry, which led him to work in soil remediation — using plants to naturally clean water and soil. Laio first came to Canada as an international exchange student through university for 16 months. After completing his degree in Brazil, Laio returned to Canada to complete his Masters in Soil Remediation and Carbon Sequestration. He says it felt like he was coming home when he returned to Edmonton since he enjoyed being in Canada during his previous internship. 

Laio first came to the College and the TACLP in August 2020 as an intern through the Adaptation Resilience Training (ART) Program at the University of Alberta before becoming a Research Associate at the TACLP, and then joining the management team. While working full time with the TACLP, Laio also found time to finish and defend his Masters degree at the University of Alberta. In his thesis, Laio studied the effect of adaptive rotational grazing systems on the sequestration of carbon in the Canadian grasslands. During his Masters, Laio was awarded the industry-funded AltaLink Masters Scholarship in Rangeland Disturbance Ecology for his contribution to research on rangeland science.

Outside of work and research, Laio is focused on leading a healthy and active lifestyle. He enjoys biking, going for walks and hikes, making trips to the mountains, Banff and Canmore, playing dodgeball and volleyball, and organizing backyard BBQs.