Dr. Norman Bourlaug

It was announced today that a statue will be unveiled on March 25 in Washington DC in honor of Dr. Norman Bourlaug.  Dr. Bourlaug is know as the father of the "Green Revolution."  Forbes Magazine published this tribute to Dr. Bourlaug.  Dr. Bourlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his scientific and humanitarian efforts.  A rather lengthy obituary appeared in the New York Times.

Dr. Bourlaug is not without his critics.  While he is credited with saving at least a billion lives, he is criticized for bringing modern farming methods to less developed countries.  If you consider that maybe a billion people would not have lived to adulthood in many parts of the world without the efforts of Dr. Bourlaug perhaps that is proof enough that his life's work was worthwhile.  Those of us involved in production agriculture need to to look to the great leaders of the past like Bourlaug, not to run down his work, but to see how we can continue the legacy and continue to feed a hungry world.  It will take many ideas and diverse techniques for us to be able to continue to say "Agronomy Feeds The World."  That idea was an inspiration to this agronomy student in the 70's and should be a goal we strive to still.