Agricultural field with crops. Agricultural field with crops.

Navigating Diversity in Agriculture & STEM

Dr. Shefali Mehta & Dr. LaKisha Odom

Washington, DC

Washington, DC

Frank Discussions about Diversity in Agriculture

The future of agriculture depends on the work that we do today to optimize diverse, equitable and inclusive spaces. The Open Rivers Navigator podcast, hosted by the founder, Dr.Shefali Mehta, features a three-episode series with FFAR Scientific Program Director Dr. LaKisha Odom  discussing the realities and repercussions of discrimination and exclusion in agriculture.

This series explores how Odom developed a passion for agriculture, the transformative side of discomfort and the impacts of institutionalized racism on her daily life. This series reminds listeners that while you are not alone in these feelings of inadequacy, you are not inadequate.

Tune in to hear more of Odom’s thoughts.

Episode One: Navigating diversity in agriculture and STEM with Dr. LaKisha Odom

The first episode in this series focuses on diversity and barriers in agriculture. Odom discusses how she grew to love agriculture, how she holds multiple realities and her experience in the white world of agriculture. Read the episode transcript.

Listen to Episode One

Portrait of LaKisha Odom.
In having difficult conversations like this, we can create this future we want to see. We can’t get there by not talking about it. We’ve done that for hundreds of years. How’s that working out for us? Not great. LaKisha Odom, Ph.D.
Scientific Program Director
Sustaining Vibrant Agroecosystems

Episode Two: Navigating diversity in agriculture and STEM with Dr. LaKisha Odom

In the second episode, Odom shares experiences of being too much, and yet still not enough. She discusses the consequences of gaslighting, the importance of discomfort and the ways to take action in your own life. Read the episode transcript.

Listen to Episode Two

Portrait of Shefali Mehta.
When you talk about leading change and transforming organizations, the first step is to lead yourself…If you individually make these shifts, then these behaviors will change. Dr. Shefali Mehta
Founder of Open Rivers

Episode Three: Navigating diversity in agriculture and STEM with Dr. LaKisha Odom

In the final episode, Odom dives into the harm microaggressions cause and the impacts of institutional racism on everyday life. This episode captures the importance of having these difficult conversations. Read the episode transcript.

Listen to Episode Three

 

More Navigator Podcast Episodes

Where to listen

Insights

Our Insights highlight unique perspectives from across the food and agriculture community.

See all Insights

Securing Soybean Yields from the Bottom Up

Sujata Bogati

2022-2025 FFAR Fellow, Purdue University

The Importance of Healthy Indigenous Food Systems & How to Improve Them 

Portrait of Michael Johnson.

Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson

Assistant Professor - Indigenous Resiliency School of Natural Resources & the Environment Indigenous Reliance Center University of Arizona 

The Aim For Healthy, Productive & Environmentally Friendly, Southeastern Beef Calves

Federico Tarnonsky

FFAR Fellow (2022-2025), University of Florida

Hispanic Heritage Month

Using Artificial Intelligence to Calculate GHGs at the Individual Farm Level

Kaiyu Guan

Dr. Kaiyu Guan

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Data for Dairy: Research to Guide Farmers in Their Sustainability Journey

Reza Afshar

Reza Afshar

Vice President, Soil, Feed and Water Research at Dairy Management Inc.

Data-Driven Fungicide Decisions

Vini Garnica

2022-2025 FFAR Fellow, NC State University

Time Teaches Biosecurity Importance

Kevin Schulz

Kevin Schulz

Editor, The Farmer/Farm Progress

Greener Cattle Initiative is Game Changer for Dairy’s Future

Dr. Juan Tricarico

Dr. Juan Tricarico

Senior Vice President, Environmental Research, Dairy Management Inc.

Cracking the Code of Texture:

Heeduk Oh

FFAR Fellow, NC State University

Entrepreneur Attributes Kirchner HBCU Fellowship to Career Success

Kwame Terra

Kwame Terra MPH

Kirchner Fellowship HBCU 2021 Cohort

Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Cattle

Francisco Penagaricano headshot

Dr. Francisco Peñagaricano and Dr. Guillermo Martinez Boggio

Building Diversity & Inclusion in the Agriculture Technology Venture Capital Industry

Portrait of LaKisha Odom.

LaKisha Odom, Ph.D.

Scientific Program Director Sustaining Vibrant Agroecosystems

Unlocking Peanut Potential

Portrait of Samuele.

Samuele Lamon

FFAR Fellow, University of Georgia

Advancing Ecosystem Service Markets for Sustainable Farming

Portrait of LaKisha Odom.

LaKisha Odom & DJ May

Feeding Bees Through Diversity

A smiling person covered in bees forming a 'bee beard' on their neck and chest, with a pebble wall in the background.

Riley Reed

FFAR Fellow, Washington State University

Precision Agriculture Tools for Livestock Production

Portrait of Caleb Grohmann.

Caleb J. Grohmann

FFAR Fellow, University of Missouri

The Next Frontier for Biotechnology & the Future of Forestry

General image related to agriculture.

Samantha Surber

FFAR Fellow, University of Georgia

A Place for Everyone in Agriculture

Portrait of LaKisha Odom.

Dr. LaKisha Odom & Jocelyn Hittle

News

The latest news and updates from FFAR.

See all News

Funding Opportunity Drives Innovation & Commercialization in Sustainable Packaging for Specialty Crop Exports

SHIC/FFAR Fund Six Japanese Encephalitis Virus Research Projects

FFAR & OCP North America Announce Fertilizer Fellowship Awardees & Grant Opportunity

Grant Improves Hemp Fiber Processing & Quality

FFAR & Danone North America Announce Grant Opportunity to Support Regenerative Agriculture

FFAR Research Addresses On-Farm Bird Flu Outbreaks Linked to Wild Waterfowl

Danone Insititute North America Accepting Grant Proposals for Sustainable Food Systems Initiatives

FFAR and USDA Launch Request for Proposals for Site Host of the G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists

SHIC, FFAR & Pork Checkoff Announce H5N1 Risk to Swine Research Program & RFP

ROAR Funding Protects Strawberries from Dangerous Pathogen

Efficient Fertilizer Consortium Seeks Research to Evaluate Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer Impact Globally

FFAR’s Dr. LaKisha Odom Selected for Two Prestigious Agriculture Industry Awards

FFAR Aims to Help Farmers Manage Manure More Sustainably & Profitably

Seeding Solutions Grant Promotes Clean Water Through Performance-Based Financing

USDA and FFAR Announce Innovation Challenge Projects Aimed at Catalyzing Transformative Research Solutions

FFAR Seeding Solutions Grant Evaluates the Benefits of Converting Row Crops to Perennial Forage Systems

Seeding Solutions Grant Provides Decision Support Tool for Extreme Weather Events

Seeding Solutions Grant to Preserve Groundwater and Economically Benefit Growers

FFAR & Eight Member Organizations Commit $8.45 Million to Efficient Fertilizer Consortium

Hemp Research Consortium Grant Examines Biopesticides for Hemp Treatment

Breakthroughs

Tools, technologies and strategies from the research we fund.

See all Breakthroughs

New Study Shows AI & Supercomputing Can Quantify Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Individual Farms

Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Quantifies Organic Carbon to Improve Agricultural Productivity

Loyalty Shopper Card Intervention Creates Behavior Change

Breakthrough for Individually-targeted incentives, diet quality and health outcomes among adults

Developing an Extensive Database of US Groundwater Wells

Breakthrough for Achieving Sustainable Groundwater Management Through Innovative Governance & Optimal Agricultural Water Use Under Conflicting Objectives

Building Collaborations for Technology-Driven Solutions in Agriculture

Breakthrough for Open Technology Ecosystem for Agricultural Management (OpenTEAM)

Building Food System Interventions to Support Urban & Rural Communities

Breakthrough for Integrating Community and Modeling Efforts to Evaluate Impacts and Tradeoffs of Food System Interventions

Unlocking Genetic Heat Tolerance in Cattle

Breakthrough for Precision Bred Adaptation of Elite Taurine Breeds of Beef & Dairy Cattle

Increased Fiber, Same Great Taste

Breakthrough for Increasing Dietary Fiber in Wheat Crop

Diagnosing Coffee Leaf Rust & Slowing Its Spread

Breakthrough for Protecting Coffee from Leaf Rust Disease

Connecting Growers & Markets

Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Develops Tools to Predict Consumer Demand, Reduce Food Waste

Accelerating Crop Development with Improved Haploid Fertility

Breakthrough for Accelerated Development of Crops of the Future

Documenting Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing’s Benefits

Breakthrough for Quantifying the Advantages of Multi-Paddock (AMP) Grazing in the U.S. Southeast & Northern Great Plains

RIPE Researchers Prove Bioengineering Better Photosynthesis Increases Yields in Food Crops for the First Time

Breakthrough for Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) Reinvestment

Launch of Eco-Harvest, a program rewarding producers for regenerative agriculture practices

Breakthrough for Ecosystem Services Market Consortium

Radiography could transform poultry breeding

Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens

Research Pinpoints Why Dairy Cows Produce Less Milk in Warm Weather and Develops Nutrition-Based Solution

Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures

The Irrigation Innovation Consortium & Parallel 41 Network: Building a path to data-driven management

Groundwater Fluctuations Impact Grain Yields

Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $2.4 Million to Eight Early-Career Research Faculty Members for Innovative Research Projects

Getting to the Root of the Problem: Fastidious Pathogens

Breakthrough for A Novel Bioassay for Culturing and Characterizing Fastidious Phytopathogens

Report on Interventions to Reduce Consumer Food Waste

Breakthrough for Understanding & Reducing Consumer Food Waste

Feed Additives Stop Viral Disease Spread, Researchers Find

Breakthrough for FFAR-Funded Research Finds Feed Additives Stop the Spread of Viral Diseases