CAST CEO Chris Boomsma hosted a members-only session Aug. 4 to brief the organization’s membership on the progress of a major strategic initiative — one that could define CAST’s role in U.S. agriculture for decades to come. The session is now available to watch at https://youtu.be/kEivz0iy_0A
The session, titled “The CAST Initiative: Where We Are and What’s Ahead,” offered CAST members a candid look at the work of the organization’s Strategic Advisory Council, a 24-member body of leaders from across agriculture, research, investment and policy that has been tasked with defining what a national-level institution for agricultural science and technology could look like.
The Problem CAST Is Trying to Solve
Over the past year and a half, Boomsma and the CAST team have conducted extensive interviews with stakeholders from government, academia, the nonprofit sector and private industry. The picture that emerged is one of an agricultural sector facing structural — not cyclical — change.
The challenges are significant: geopolitical competition, commodity market pressures, chronic underinvestment in agricultural science and technology, a fragmented research and policy landscape, and an ag science community that, despite its talent and innovation, lacks a unified national voice.
“The challenge is not generating innovation,” Boomsma said. “The challenge is translating innovation into system-level outcomes.”
What the SAC Is Building
The Strategic Advisory Council met for two days in Washington, D.C., where members heard from House and Senate agriculture committees and met with the National Academy of Sciences. Their work produced a set of design principles for a potential new institution: one that is influential, not directive; inclusive across sectors and domains; focused on real-world impact; and built to progress in stages.
The SAC’s vision is not to replicate or compete with existing institutions, but to fill a gap — providing strategic foresight, research prioritization, and science communication leadership in a way that currently has no home in the U.S. agricultural system.
“We’re trying to find the need and respond to that,” Boomsma said.
What’s Next
CAST is conducting a national listening tour, with sessions already held at NC State University and planned at the University of Arkansas. Additional states and stakeholder communities — including university chancellors, C-suite executives and scientific societies — will be engaged in the coming months.
The SAC is preparing recommendations for the CAST Board of Directors, which will have a decision to make around the organization’s annual meeting in late October.
“We want to build something that stakeholders choose to use, trust, and align around,” Boomsma said. “That’s what we’re trying to build.”
Updates will be shared at cast-science.org as the initiative advances.
