CAST papers are developed by interdisciplinary task forces composed of volunteer authors, chairs, reviewers, liaisons, and translators from academia, industry, and government. This index recognizes those contributors and highlights the breadth of expertise that supports CAST’s work.

John Swarthout

Affiliation
Bayer Crop Science
Publications as Reviewer
COVID-Impacts
This commentary evaluates how agricultural science and technology can support implementation of the federal Climate 21 Project, which positions the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a central actor in national climate mitigation and resilience strategies. Agriculture and forestry are highlighted as the only major sectors capable of becoming net greenhouse gas sinks, offering substantial potential to help the United States reach net‑zero emissions by 2050 through soil carbon sequestration, improved nutrient management, reduced tillage, and strengthened crop and livestock systems.
Publications as CAST Liaison
CAST_PFAS in Agriculture- Science Uncertainty and Risk Communication_EM
PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” are a growing regulatory and economic challenge for agriculture, even though farms usually sit downstream from contamination sources such as biosolids, compost, irrigation water and industrial sites. This paper argues that treating thousands of chemically diverse compounds as one uniform hazard distorts policy and penalizes farmers. Detection is not the same as risk: the strongest health evidence centers on a few compounds, mainly PFOA and PFOS. The authors review federal and state regulation, litigation and EPA’s 2026 draft biosolids guidance, and recommend source control, strategic testing, compound-by-compound interpretation, documentation and early, credible risk communication.