Board of Directors - CAST - The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is CAST’s policy-making and governing body. The Board establishes membership dues, approves the annual budget, employs the CEO, votes on new members, and decides which projects to undertake or terminate.

Board Composition

The Board includes:

President (Chair)
President-Elect
Immediate Past President
Treasurer
One representative from each Work Group (Animal Science, Food Science, Plant Science)
One representative elected from all Society members
One representative elected from all Nonprofit and Education members
One representative elected from all Corporate members
Executive Vice President/CEO (nonvoting)

Board members serve staggered three-year terms. The President-Elect is elected annually and automatically succeeds to President, then Immediate Past President.

Members

Ann Steensland

Mosaic

Company Liaison

–

Board of Directors

Brandon Neuschafer

Brandon Neuschafer

American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources

Representative

–

Food Sciences Workgroup

Past President

–

Board of Directors

Chris Boomsma

CAST

Member

–

Strategic Advisory Council

2026

CEO

–

Board of Directors

David D. Baltensperger

David D. Baltensperger

Texas A&M University

Representative

–

Plant & Soil Sciences Workgroup

Nonprofit/Education Liaison

–

Board of Directors

Dirk Drost

CAST BOD Member

Representative

–

Plant & Soil Sciences Workgroup

Treasurer

–

Board of Directors

James Kober

American Veterinary Medical Association

Chair

–

Animal Sciences Workgroup

AWG Liaison

–

Board of Directors

John Swarthout

Bayer Crop Science

Chair

–

Food Sciences Workgroup

FWG Liaison

–

Board of Directors

Laura White

Representative

–

Food Sciences Workgroup

Member

–

Board of Directors

Marty Matlock

American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Chair

–

Plant & Soil Sciences Workgroup

PWG Liaison

–

Board of Directors

Melissa Johnson

Melissa Johnson

Corteva

Representative

–

Plant & Soil Sciences Workgroup

President-Elect

–

Board of Directors

Tom Redick

Global Environmental Ethics Council

Representative

–

Food Sciences Workgroup

Society Liaison

–

Board of Directors

Vara Prasad

Kansas State University

Representative

–

Plant & Soil Sciences Workgroup

President

–

Board of Directors

Help Support CAST!

Your donation to CAST helps support the CAST mission of communicating science to meet the challenge of producing enough food, fiber and fuel for a growing population. Every gift, no matter the size, is appreciated.