California NRCS Sustainable Rangelands Roundtable soil health tour at Stemple Creek Ranch.
Collaborative Resilience at the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Story and photos by LaKisha Odom
In September of 2016, I joined a new organization dedicated to fostering innovative partnerships to fund audacious agricultural research: The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). With a background in plant and soil science, years of research practice, and after previously holding positions at the EPA and USDA, I was excited to bring my experience to FFAR as the scientific program director of soil health. In this role, I have had the privilege of watching our organization grow and developing the Soil Health Challenge Area, a grant-making initiative that explores the linkages between soil health and farm productivity, economics, human health, and management practices. To date, FFAR has invested more than 30 million dollars in soil health research, with many more projects on the horizon. As a scientific program director at FFAR, one of my main goals is to determine research gaps and other spaces where our organization should focus its investigative efforts. One of the areas that has become more prominent throughout our organization over the years is resilience. Scientists predict a changing climate will be harmful to farmers, who will soon face higher temperatures and more dry dates each year, both of which negatively affect crop yields. Additional changes in climate are expected over the coming decades — instances of extreme precipitation, increases in greenhouse gases, weed growth, the spread of new pests and pathogens — making it essential that farmers and ranchers respond and adapt more effectively to these emerging challenges. FFAR recognizes these impending difficulties, and has made it our mission to support innovative and collaborative science that provides every person access to affordable, nutritious food grown on thriving farms. As farmers and ranchers contend with the uncertainty and variability of our environment and food system, resilience and adaptive management strategies have become key components of our funding plan. FFAR recognizes that agricultural producers have always, throughout the course of time, been forced to adjust to new conditions, but the present moment requires us to offer even greater support. In collaboration with our extensive network of partners, FFAR has already funded important new research that can help build more sustainable and climate-resilient farming-production practices. FFAR acknowledges and respects the commitment that farmers, ranchers, and others have also made on their own in developing their sustainable food systems. By supporting the study and dissemination of practical, site-specific research, we help enhance farmers’ and ranchers’ climate resilience and productivity. 24
