AMES, Iowa, Oct. 6, 2026 — The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) today named Dr. Joseph W. Glauber, research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as the recipient of the 2026 CAST Lifetime Achievement Award (CLAA).
The CLAA recognizes individuals whose sustained, career-long contributions have advanced agricultural science, science communication, or science-based leadership in food, agriculture and the environment.
Dr. Glauber began his career in 1984 at USDA’s Economic Research Service, working on how food reserves affect commodity prices and on crop insurance policy. He went on to serve on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, as USDA deputy chief economist from 1992 to 2007 and as USDA chief economist from 2008 to 2014 — a post he assumed in the middle of the financial crisis. As chief economist he oversaw the department’s agricultural forecasts and chaired the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board of Directors. He was an economic adviser during the negotiations that led to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and later served as the chief U.S. agricultural negotiator in the WTO Doha Round.
As the U.S. sherpa to the 2011 G20 agriculture ministerial, Dr. Glauber helped lead the creation of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), established after the global food price spikes of 2007–2010 to improve market transparency and coordinate policy responses. He later chaired AMIS and served as its interim secretary until January 2024.
Since joining IFPRI in 2014, he has analyzed the food-security effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, U.S. tariff changes and the 2026 disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. He co-edits IFPRI’s blog series on shocks to the global food system, has authored more than 200 publications and has been cited in more than 13,000 media mentions since 2021.
“For more than four decades, Joe Glauber has shown what it looks like to put credible science at the center of the decisions that shape agriculture,” said Chris Boomsma, CAST CEO. “Whether he was advising a secretary of agriculture, negotiating trade rules or explaining a crisis as it unfolded, he gave policymakers, farmers and the public the evidence they needed, in language they could use. That is exactly the kind of career the CAST Lifetime Achievement Award was created to recognize.”
“Joe Glauber not only understands agricultural markets better than most of us, but also has an incredible talent for helping to understand them and to explain how policies and external events are affecting them,” said Johan Swinnen, director general of IFPRI, who nominated Dr. Glauber for the award. “His outstanding analysis and clear communication has helped inform US agricultural policies and global deliberations on agrifood topics alike. Recently he has become THE source to go to for the latest insights on how global food and ag input markets are affected by all the shocks affecting the world today.”
In a letter supporting the nomination, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman wrote, “When lawmakers needed a straight answer on agricultural economics, Joe was who they called.”
“I always keep telling myself that we’re not in the business of being the headline,” Glauber said. “We really want to be behind the headline, trying to help people understand an issue.” Of the award, he said: “To be [recognized] with a lifetime achievement award by peers is very, very humbling.”
Dr. Glauber is also a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His honors include the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association’s 2023 Quality of Communication Award, election as an AAEA Fellow and the Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricole from the French government, both in 2012, and the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award in 2004. He holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin.
Award Ceremony
The award will be presented Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2026, at 6 p.m. ET at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., alongside the Borlaug CAST Communication Award and the CAST Science Communication Scholarship. The date marks the anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
About the CAST Lifetime Achievement Award
Established in 2025, the CLAA recognizes career-long impact in agricultural science, communication and leadership. The inaugural award was presented to Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, president emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation.
More information: cast-science.org/2026-claa/
About CAST
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) is a nonprofit organization composed of scientific societies, companies, corporations and individuals. CAST assembles, interprets and communicates credible, science-based information to policymakers, the media, the private sector and the public. 2625 N Loop Dr., Suite 2610, Ames, Iowa 50010 · cast-science.org
Media Contacts
Carlos Back Vianna, Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), cvianna@cast-science.org
Evgeniya Anisimova, IFPRI, e.anisimova@cgiar.org