Importance of Agriculture Research Funding

Today – we talk about the importance of agriculture research funding. Our guest today is one of the most insightful people I know, Dr. Sally Rockey, the inaugural Executive Director of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). Prior to this role, Sally was a leader in federal research, overseeing the operations of the extramural research programs in both agriculture and biomedicine. She spent almost twenty years with the US Department of Agriculture, where she held several positions within the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service including head of Competitive Research Grants and Chief Information Officer. From there, she spent eleven years with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As the NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, she led the operations of the world’s largest extramural research program. Returning to her roots in agriculture, she has seen FFAR through its startup phase and witnessed it grow into a significant force in the agriculture research community through the development of innovative private-public research partnerships. Rockey received her doctorate degree in entomology from the Ohio State University and did postgraduate work at University of Wisconsin. She has devoted her career to improving people’s lives through research and continues this mission today.