CAST Honors Ambassador Kenneth Quinn with Lifetime Achievement Award

Award Celebrates Leadership in Agriculture and Global Food Security

• Bonnie Johnson
• October 03, 2025
• Media Article

Ambassador Kenneth Quinn receives CAST’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for advancing agriculture, food security, and science, with recognition highlighting his career, leadership, and inspiration for future generations.

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The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) announces Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn as the first recipient of its newly created Lifetime Achievement Award. Quinn, President Emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation and former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, is honored for his decades of service to agriculture and international cooperation.
 

The award will be presented on October 22, 2025, during a breakfast ceremony in Des Moines, Iowa, held alongside the World Food Prize events. This milestone marks CAST’s effort to recognize leaders who have made extraordinary contributions to agriculture and science throughout their lifetime.
 

Ambassador Quinn reflected on the award, saying, “From my very first Foreign Service assignment introducing IR8 ‘miracle rice’ in the Mekong Delta in 1968, to my leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation, agricultural science and technology have been the constant thread in my work. This award affirms the theme that has guided my life: peace through agricultural science and technology.”
 

Longtime colleague Ambassador Terry Branstad praised Quinn, noting, “It doesn’t surprise me at all that Ken Quinn is receiving this award. Anyone who meets Ken knows that his passion for life, combined with his expertise in world affairs, brings him to the forefront of what this Award is all about. My wife, Chris, and I applaud him for being the recipient of this great honor.”
 

Dr. Chris Boomsma, CAST CEO, highlighted Quinn’s impact: “Ambassador Kenneth Quinn’s lifelong dedication to advancing global food security, agricultural science, and international collaboration embodies the very ideals of CAST’s mission.
 

It is a profound honor for CAST to recognize him with this award, celebrating not only his remarkable career but also the inspiration he provides to future generations of leaders.”
 

With this recognition, CAST completes its award program, which honors contributors at all stages — from students to professionals and now lifetime leaders. Quinn’s career serves as a model for building peace and progress through agriculture.
 

Photo by: cast-science.org