The FFAR Board of Directors held the Foundation’s 11th Annual Meeting on October 28, 2025. This year’s event was held in-person at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. The Annual Meeting is an opportunity for the public and members of the food and agriculture community to hear from FFAR’s leadership and interact with them during the public comment and Q&A session.
A full recording of the Annual Meeting is available on FFAR’s YouTube channel.
During this year’s conversation, FFAR’s Board Chair and President of Mississippi State University Dr. Mark Keenum highlighted FFAR’s unique role and distinct value to food and agriculture research. Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin, FFAR’s executive director, highlighted FFAR’s impact and its 2026 research pipeline, pending additional funding. A panel, “Delivering for U.S. Farmers: How FFAR’s Model Bolsters American Agriculture,” featured several FFAR partners, including:
- Dr. Lisa Becton, Associate Director, Swine Health Information Center
- Chad Ellis, CEO, Texas Agricultural Land Trust
- Amanda Butterfield, Owner & Operator, Maple Valley Cattle Company
- Ryan Hamberg, FFAR Fellow, Texas A&M University
At the time of the event, FFAR has awarded 450 grants with a matching ratio of 1:1.4 and invested $836 million in bold food and agriculture research. More information about FFAR’s activities over the past year are available in FFAR’s 2024 Impact Report, A Decade of Advancing Bold Food & Agriculture Research, which highlights recent breakthroughs, ranging from fungicide application guidelines saving vineyards in the mid-Atlantic millions of dollars, to practical, cost-effective tools protecting the health of the swine herd, to proving the efficacy of prairie strips in protecting pollinators and fostering their interactions with crop fields.
FFAR received numerous thoughtful public comments from members of the food and agriculture community. All comments were shared with the FFAR Board.
View slides from the event.