From left: Dan Glickman, Mark Keenum, Pamela Johnson and Christopher Mallett

The board of the newly formed Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research elected former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman as its first chairman late last week, The Hagstrom Report has learned.

Glickman was elected during a meeting of the 15-member board in a telephone conference call on Thursday. The board also elected Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum as vice president, National Corn Growers Association Chairwoman Pamela Johnson as secretary and Cargill Vice President of Research and Development Christopher Mallett as treasurer.

The foundation, created by the 2014 farm bill, will operate as a separate, non-governmental, private, nonprofit corporation seeking and accepting private donations in order to fund research activities that will complement existing USDA research on problems of national and international significance.

Congress provided $200 million for the foundation which must be matched by non-federal funds as the foundation identifies and approves projects.

“We are moving quickly to get FFAR up and running to increase the nation’s investments in research that will allow America to remain a world leader in agriculture,” said Glickman, who served as Agriculture secretary during the Clinton administration. He is executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Congressional Program and also associated with the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“We have an outstanding board of directors that is ready and eager to lead, and that understands the critical value of public-private partnerships in this area.”

▪ USDA — Creation of Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research