Cultivating Ag Careers: Foundation for Food & Agriculture's Dr. LaKisha J. Odom

GREENWICH, N.Y. — Dr. LaKisha J. Odom is originally from Mobile, Alabama and her involvement in agriculture started as a child. “I grew up around agriculture,” said LaKisha. “My grandparents were sharecroppers from Macon County, AL and my mother’s father always had a garden where he would grow vegetables for the house.” When she was older, she took her interest to Tuskegee University where she studied environmental science. Later, she received a master’s degree in environmental resource policy from The George Washington University, and a doctorate in integrative biosciences from Tuskegee University.

Today, LaKisha is a Scientific Program Director for the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). FFAR is a nonprofit organization that was founded by Congress in the 2014 Farm Bill. The organization was formed to build public-private partnerships that fund innovative food and agriculture research. LaKisha explained that FFAR creates matching funding partnerships with companies such as McDonald’s, Purdue, Clif Bar and Nestlé, and organizations like The Organic Center, the Organic Farming Research Foundation, and the Nature Conservancy to name a few. Through these public-private partnerships, non-federal dollars can be matched to FFAR’s federal dollars to support needed agriculture research. They also have the benefit of providing a strong return on taxpayer dollars.

“In my role, I identify research gaps and innovation spaces within FFAR’s Soil Health Challenge Area and translate these into research projects or programs,” shared LaKisha. “I manage the resulting research initiatives, including developing and overseeing the evaluation of requests for applications/proposals, project timelines, budgets, and associated grants and contracts.”

LaKisha manages a variety of research projects. Some of these include: establishing standard soil health measurements to equip farmers and policy makers to make data-driven decisions that optimize long-term agricultural productivity; determining how grazing management decisions impact soil health and producers’ bottom line; encouraging the development of new, efficient fertilizer technologies that improve overall crop productivity, decrease production costs and reduce environmental impacts; designing tools that can increase producer participation in carbon capture programs; and supporting the growth of and increasing racial equity in organic farming.

She also oversees FFAR’s scientific workforce development program, which includes eight fellowship, grant and award programs that provide unique student and young faculty research opportunities to help develop the next generation of food and agriculture scientists. A few examples of these include the Tribal Agriculture Fellowship, New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award and the Veterinary Student Research Fellowship.

Prior to her current position, LaKisha worked in the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (EPA) in their Office of Research and Development and Office of Solid Waste. She was also a part of EPA’s Brownfields Redevelopment Program. She also worked for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Biotechnology Regulatory Service. These experiences, plus her research and work at Tuskegee aid her in her job today as she said, “Each of those experiences informs how I work with FFAR’s partners, think about problem solving and support bold research.”

Working in the area of agriculture research LaKisha and FFAR seek to keep American agriculture viable and sustainable, and improve areas where it lacks or is facing challenges. LaKisha shared, “To protect our national food supplies, farming livelihoods, economic growth and the environment, more U.S. agriculture research and innovation is needed. But research is expensive. That’s why Congress established FFAR in the 2014 Farm Bill (and refunded it in 2018) …The work I do supports FFAR in identifying critical food and agriculture research gaps and brings together industry partners to find sustainable solutions to fill those gaps to ensure everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food grown on thriving farms.”

For someone pursuing a career in agriculture LaKisha stressed that careers in agriculture are numerous and are beyond the scope of what people often consider when thinking of careers in agriculture. “Many people have a misunderstanding of what a career in agriculture is,” she explained. “The perception is that it’s mostly production work, but today, agriculture is a complex, technical industry that needs research and data scientists, engineers, venture capitalists and other off-farm professionals with advanced degrees.” She advises career seekers to reach out to those in the field to get a sense of what is out there. “Talk to folks! There are so many paths to work in this space, and no one ‘right’ way to engage in agriculture. It’s always helpful to engage with a wide range of stakeholders,” she said.

For anyone interested in LaKisha’s work, agriculture research, or the industry in general, feel free to reach out to her at lodom@foundationfar.org.

A new column from Morning Ag Clips, “Cultivating Ag Careers” introduces agriculture students and FFAers to the wide variety of careers that exist in agriculture. Each week a new individual will be introduced, who will share their journey: their educational experiences, their work, and what role their job plays in the wide world of agriculture.

Tune in each Wednesday to learn more about the different jobs and personalities that make up the ag industry!