The agbiosciences are being asked to answer harder questions faster than ever — and at the same time, public trust in institutions and expertise is thinning. This week we are joined by Chris Boomsma, CEO of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), for a conversation about what it actually takes to produce science that farmers, researchers, companies and policymakers can all rely on. We dig into how CAST's peer-reviewed, expert-led process works and why that rigor matters when decisions carry real economic, environmental and food-system consequences. Chris also weighs in on the funding and political pressures reshaping academic research, the tension between the industry's need for speed and science's need for care and where misinformation is most likely to take hold. It's a candid look at how credible voices earn trust — and what organizations like CAST will have to do more boldly to keep it.
Highlights include:
What CAST actually is — the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology's mission and the convening role it plays across the agriculture ecosystem.
Where science is needed most — the biggest issues facing ag right now, and where credible, evidence-based information is most urgently missing.
Inside the process — what peer-reviewed, expert-led report development really looks like, and why the vetting is the point.
Why peer review matters in ag — the economic, environmental, and food-system stakes behind decisions made by farmers, researchers, companies, and policymakers.
Trust in a skeptical era — how CAST reaches audiences who don't automatically trust science or formal research bodies.
Rigor meets accessibility — balancing accuracy with usefulness for producers, industry leaders, and decision-makers.
A research sector in transition — how shifting funding models, political pressures, and new expectations for public impact are changing agricultural science.
Speed vs. care — whether a gap is opening between how fast the industry needs answers and how long careful science takes, and how CAST is responding.
Misinformation's soft spots — the ag topics most vulnerable to oversimplification, and where trusted scientific voices matter most.
The cost of moving too fast — the risk to agribusiness leaders, policymakers, and startups that skip peer-reviewed grounding.
What's next — what CAST and similar organizations must do differently — or more boldly — to protect scientific credibility and keep agriculture moving forward.
