Last month the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR) announced a $7 million investment in Pollinator Health. FFAR targeted key gaps in our ability to focus research into innovative and concrete initiatives that can change practices in the world. This week we are joined by Dr. Sally Rockey, who became the inaugural Executive Director of FFAR in 2015. Prior to this role, Dr. Rockey was an award-winning leader in Federal research. She spent 19 years with the U.S. Department of Agriculture where she held a number of positions within the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. Very early in her career she became the head of the competitive grants program, overseeing the extramural grants process and portfolio. Dr. Rockey brought her experience in agriculture research to her 11-year career at the National Institutes of Health, where she emphasized the connection between agriculture, food, and health. As Deputy Director for Extramural Research, Dr. Rockey oversaw the operations of the largest Federal extramural research program and led groundbreaking initiatives and activities that have and will have a lasting positive impact on the research community.
Dr. Rockey received her Ph.D. in Entomology from the Ohio State University and did postgraduate work at University of Wisconsin prior to joining the government. She has devoted her career to improving people’s lives through research and will continue her mission by seeing FFAR become an essential component of the scientific enterprise.
Listen in to today’s episode to learn more about FFAR, the work they are doing to help pollinator research, and how they are helping citizen scientists.
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“We consider the topic of pollinators and pollinator health to be vital to agriculture and to the success of the United States’s agriculture.” – Sally Rockey
Show Notes:
- What FFAR is and how it was established
- How FFAR worked to reach beyond standard conservation in helping pollinators
- How citizen scientists can get involved with FFAR
- The future of FFAR
- How FFAR is associated with the USDA
- What research FFAR is doing to improve pollinator habitats
- Why education outreach is so important in achieving FFAR’s goals
“Because the public plays such an important role in pollinator health, it’s important to be able to educate the public.” – Sally Rockey
Links Mentioned:
- Learn more about the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research (FFAR)
- See a listing of pollinator health projects funded by the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research
- How to get seeds for pollinators through FFAR (closes at the end of April, so do not delay)
- Check out Dr. Rockey’s favorite books on pollinators:
- Learn more about Dr. Rockey’s favorite apps:
- Find out more about Dr. Rockey’s favorite pollinator, the Hummingbird
- Connect with Sally Rockey on the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research’s website