CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology)

What CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology) does

CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology) is a U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1972 in Ames, Iowa, that operates as a science-communication intermediary between the agricultural research community and end decision-makers. It convenes networks of volunteer economists, legal experts, and scientists from scientific societies, universities, companies, and nonprofits to produce publications (task force reports, commentaries, special publications, and issue papers), bringing the cumulative output to over 500 documents since inception. Its primary audiences are federal and state policymakers, agriculture and food media, private-sector agriculture companies, the scientific community, and students, with a stated 1,000+ active members and a small 11-person staff.

The core product surface consists of three lines: (1) publications, now digitized in an open repository with permanent DOIs as of 2026; (2) educational and engagement programs, including CAST Academy (a 2026-launched online learning platform built on Thinkific), the Meet the Expert live-stream series, the CAST Pulse podcast, CAST Voices articles, and a webinar program; and (3) an awards portfolio anchored by the Borlaug CAST Communication Award and expanded in 2025 with the Lifetime Achievement Award and a student Science Communication Scholarship. Underlying technology is a standard content-and-community stack: a WordPress-based website, a Thinkific-hosted learning management system, common social channels, and webinar infrastructure — no proprietary AI, data assets, or proprietary software described.

Revenue comes from membership dues (including a free tier for students at Organizational Member universities and a $39/year standard student membership), donations, event registrations, and conference sponsorships from agribusiness firms including Bayer CropScience, BASF, Corteva, and Syngenta. The go-to-market is community-led: CAST grows by adding member societies, institutional members, and individual members, leveraging the Borlaug-named award and the credibility of its volunteer expert base rather than traditional sales motion. In 2025, CAST formed an 18-member Strategic Advisory Council to evaluate its evolution into a National Academy of Agriculture, the most significant strategic repositioning in its history.

Name

CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology)

Legal name

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology

Website

https://cast-science.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAST is a U.S. nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded in 1972 that convenes volunteer scientists and experts to produce and disseminate credible, science-based publications on food and agriculture for policymakers, media, private-sector firms, the scientific community, and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ames

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: CAST generates revenue through membership fees from scientific societies, companies, nonprofits, and individual members. Student membership is free for students from CAST Organizational Member universities and $39/year for all others.
2. Donations: The organization accepts donations to support its mission of communicating science to meet the challenge of producing enough food, fiber and fuel for a growing population.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CAST convenes networks of expert scientists, economists, and legal specialists to assemble, interpret, and communicate credible, science-based information on agriculture, food, and natural resources. Its primary offerings include peer-style task force reports, commentaries, special publications, and issue papers; educational programs such as the CAST Academy online learning platform, Meet the Expert sessions, the CAST Pulse podcast, CAST Voices articles, and webinars; recognition programs including the Borlaug CAST Communication Award; and an annual Student Innovation Conference.

Product overview

CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology) is a nonprofit organization that operates as a knowledge and information hub rather than a traditional product company. Its core offerings consist of publications (task force reports, commentaries, special publications, and issue papers), educational programs (CAST Academy online learning platform, Meet the Expert sessions, Pulse Podcast, CAST Voices articles, and Webinars), and awards (Borlaug CAST Communication Award, CAST Science Communication Scholarship, and CAST Lifetime Achievement Award). The organization also runs the annual CAST Annual Meeting and Student Innovation Conference. These offerings work together to fulfill CAST's mission of assembling, interpreting, and communicating credible, science-based information to policymakers, media, private sector, and the public.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CAST Publications Task force reports, commentaries, special publications, and issue papers written by volunteer scientists, economists, and legal experts covering food sciences, agricultural technology, animal sciences, and plant and soil sciences; provided to policymakers, media, the private sector, and the public.
• CAST Academy Online learning platform offering courses on agricultural topics for agricultural professionals, students, and early-career scientists; delivers self-paced instruction via a Thinkific-hosted interface.
• Student Innovation Conference Annual conference where CAST Student Members showcase original research, connect with leaders, and present to a knowledgeable audience; includes a poster competition with $1,750 in prizes.
• Borlaug CAST Communication Award (BCCA) Annual award honoring an individual who has made significant contributions to communicating agricultural science to broader audiences.
• CAST Science Communication Scholarship Annual $1,000 scholarship for undergraduate or graduate students who best translate complex agricultural topics into clear, accurate, creative, and impactful messages.
• CAST Lifetime Achievement Award (CLAA) Annual award recognizing individuals whose career-long contributions have advanced agricultural science and its role in shaping food, agriculture, and environmental policy.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500+ science-based publications produced
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bayer CropSciencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 October 2026Bayer CropScience is hosting the 2026 CAST Annual Meeting & Student Innovation Conference in St. Louis, MO. The three-day event brings together CAST Board of Directors, Strategic Advisory Council, Workgroups, and Student Members for joint business sessions, panel discussions, and facility tours at the Bayer Chesterfield Campus.
• Strategic Advisory Council (SAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 202518 distinguished leaders from academia, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations formed to assess and recommend steps for CAST to evolve into the National Academy of Agriculture. Members include leaders from Pairwise, CropLife America, UCLA, Borlaug Consulting, Michael Best, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Native Agriculture Financial Services, Department of Defense, FutureBridge, Syngenta, University of Tennessee, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, Washington University in St. Louis, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, APLU, and Vroom Leigh Agriculture.
• Ray Starling (SAC Chair)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2025General Counsel of the NC Chamber and President of the NC Chamber Legal Institute, serving as Chair of CAST's Strategic Advisory Council to evaluate CAST's evolution into the National Academy of Agriculture.
• Mississippi State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted the 2025 CAST Annual Meeting and Student Innovation Conference from October 27-29, 2025 in Starkville, MS. Led by Dr. Keith Coble, Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Alex Thomasson, Professor and Department Head of Agricultural & Biological Engineering.
• SoAR FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SoAR Foundation (Supporters of Agricultural Research) has joined forces with CAST to advance their shared mission of supporting agricultural science and research.
• BASFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConference sponsor for the 2025 CAST Annual Meeting & Student Innovation Conference.
• Corteva AgriscienceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConference sponsor for the 2025 CAST Annual Meeting & Student Innovation Conference.
• SyngentaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConference sponsor for the 2025 CAST Annual Meeting & Student Innovation Conference. Also represented on the Strategic Advisory Council.
• Agricultural Autonomy InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConference sponsor and partner for the 2025 CAST Annual Meeting & Student Innovation Conference, showcasing agricultural automation and drone research.
• Dan Maycock (Dataplai)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerLead instructor for CAST Academy's AI at Work in Agriculture course, a free three-part series covering practical AI adoption in agribusiness.
• Dr. David L. OrtegacoreGTM or Marketing Partner2025 Borlaug CAST Communication Award recipient and Professor at Michigan State University. Featured in Meet the Expert sessions and CAST Pulse podcast, with over 400 media appearances helping communicate food economics to policymakers and public.
• Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional organization; Dr. Jill J. McCluskey, President-Elect of AAEA, served as nominator for Dr. David Ortega's Borlaug CAST Communication Award.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR): FFAR is a nonprofit agricultural research foundation that builds public-private partnerships and funds collaborative science. Like CAST, it convenes scientific expertise to address challenges in food and agriculture, and FFAR leadership sits on CAST's Strategic Advisory Council, signaling deep operational overlap.
• American Farm Bureau Federation: Farm Bureau is the largest U.S. agricultural membership organization, representing farmers and ranchers on policy and engaging in science-based advocacy. It shares CAST's membership-driven, agriculture-focused, policy-engaged model though at a much larger scale.
• World Food Prize Foundation: The World Food Prize Foundation honors breakthroughs in food and agriculture and convenes the Borlaug Dialogue international symposium. Its mission to elevate agricultural science and its association with Norman Borlaug mirror CAST's Borlaug-named communication award and science convening work.
• CropLife America: CropLife America is the trade association for the crop protection industry, representing developers of pest-control and plant-science technologies. It is represented on CAST's Strategic Advisory Council and shares the policy-advocacy dimension of CAST's mission applied to agricultural science.
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): AAAS is a major nonprofit membership organization that publishes peer-reviewed research (Science), convenes the annual meeting, and produces science communication and policy materials. It is the closest large-scale peer to CAST in mission of assembling, interpreting, and communicating credible science to policymakers and the public.
• Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation: SoAR Foundation advocates for increased federal investment in agricultural research and has formally joined forces with CAST. It is a closely aligned peer focused on agricultural science funding and policy communication.

Emerging players

• American Society of Agronomy: The American Society of Agronomy is a scientific society for agronomists and crop/soil scientists, publishing peer-reviewed journals and convening members. It is a more narrowly-specialized scientific society peer whose members overlap heavily with CAST's volunteer expert base.
• Soil Science Society of America: SSSA is a scientific society for soil scientists with publications, certifications, and member programs. It represents a peer-style scientific society closely aligned with CAST's plant and soil sciences publication category.

Broad incumbents

• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: The U.S. National Academies provide congressionally-chartered, expert-driven science advice across all disciplines, including agriculture. CAST's strategic initiative to evolve into the National Academy of Agriculture directly positions the National Academies as the institutional benchmark and most analogous incumbent in science-policy communication.
• Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB): FASEB is a federation of biological and biomedical scientific societies that convenes researchers and publishes science policy materials. It is a broader incumbent in the same nonprofit, multi-society, science-policy communication model CAST operates within agriculture.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/castagscience
• YouTubeyoutube.com/castagscience
• Facebookfacebook.com/castagscience
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/castagscience
• Instagraminstagram.com/castagscience

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology)