Dr. Joseph W. Glauber, a research fellow emeritus at the International Food Policy Research Institute and former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will receive the 2026 Council for Agricultural Science & Technology Lifetime Achievement Award on Dec. 10 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The presentation falls on the 56th anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, a date CAST selected deliberately to underscore the award's focus on science-driven food and agriculture leadership.

What does the award recognize?

CAST presents its Lifetime Achievement Award to individuals whose career-long work has advanced agricultural science, science communication or science-based leadership in food, agriculture and the environment. The council announced Glauber's selection Oct. 7.

"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 chief executive officer. "That is exactly the kind of career the CAST Lifetime Achievement Award was created to recognize."

How did Glauber shape agricultural policy?

Glauber spent 30 years at USDA, including a six-year tenure as chief economist from 2008 to 2014. He served as the chief U.S. agricultural negotiator in the World Trade Organization's Doha Round and helped lead the creation of the G20's Agricultural Market Information System in 2011.

At IFPRI, he has analyzed the food security effects of three distinct global shocks:

• The COVID-19 pandemic
• The Russia-Ukraine war
• The 2026 disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz

He has logged more than 13,000 media mentions since 2021, a metric that reflects how frequently news outlets turn to him for context on commodity moves and trade disruptions.

Why does his analysis matter to farmers and markets?

Glauber built his career translating agricultural policy and global events into signals that growers, cooperatives and input makers can use to gauge price risk. "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."

IFPRI Director General Dr. Johan Swinnen, who nominated him for the award, framed the choice in market terms. "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," Swinnen said.

What comes next?

The Dec. 10 ceremony at the Library of Congress will place Glauber among a small group of agricultural economists recognized for sustained analytical influence rather than a single policy victory or program.

Watch for CAST to publish a full transcript of the ceremony and for IFPRI to release an updated compilation of Glauber's trade and food security work in the weeks following the award.