Jan. 4, 2021 – The Norman Borlaug Boyhood Home is in a remote and rural location 14 miles south of Cresco, Iowa. Cresco is in the northeastern part of the Hawkeye state. The barn Norman helped his father build in 1929 when Norman was 15 still stands. The quiet country home is thousands of miles away from Mexico where Norman spent more than 15 years during his career. With a deep commitment to solving world hunger, Norman worked tirelessly in Mexico as an agronomist. He develpoed wheat strains resistant to stem rust disease. Stem rust is a fungus that can quickly wipe out an entire wheat crop.

It took Norman 15 years to achieve his goal.

Norman Borlaug (1914-2009)
Norman lived at the family homestead in Cresco until he was 19 years old. 

He left Iowa to attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. His college experiences in the classroom and in the community would influence his work for the rest of his life. He earned an undergraduate degree in forestry. He then entered the graduate program in plant pathology under the direction of Dr. Elvin Stakman (1885-1979). His expertise was stem rust disease in wheat. Stem rust is a fungal disease that can quickly wipe out an entire wheat crop.

After working in Delaware for DuPont as a microbiologist during World War II and finishing his doctoral degree in plant pathology, Dr. Norman Borlaug was recruited to work for the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1944, Norman accepted their job offer to move to Mexico to help farmers increase their yields of wheat to alleviate hunger and famine plaguing the country. The foundation hired experts in other crops as well.

Norman worked for 15 years in Mexico conducting his research. He spent many months of the year living near the fields with few comforts of home. He created thousands of new strains of wheat by cross breeding wheat in two locations at different latitudes in Mexico. He called his revolutionary and rebellious idea “shuttle breeding.” It would change conventional wisdom and practice about agriculture forever.

His dogged determination to alleviate hunger combined with his dedication to science resulted in his success. He and his team developed strains of wheat that were: 1) resistant to stem rust disease; 2) short enough not to fall over (a problem called lodging) and rot before harvest; 4) resilient enough to grow in different geographic locations; and 3) tasty enough to bake into delicious bread. It is estimated he saved one billion lives around the world by increasing wheat crop yields.

By the late 1950s and early 1960s, Mexico no longer needed to import wheat.

Norman then shifted his focus to India and Pakistan, geographic neighbors but fierce political foes where millions of people were dying of starvation. Norman was able to convince leaders in both countries to make his new wheat strains available to farmers. He also convinced them to educate farmers on new techniques to achieve higher yields. Norman had the same success in Asia that he did in Mexico.

His Green Revolution spread to countries around the world. For his work, he was awarded the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.

The one-room schoolhouse Norman attended as a boy was moved to his family’s farm and can be toured today. It’s steps away from the Borlaug home and barn.

There is no doubt Norman would be proud of how his family farm and home are being used today to inspire the next generation of agronomists, humanitarians, and learners of all ages to solve global hunger.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Where was Norman Borlaug born and in what year?

2. Where did he attend college? What was his major field of studies? What sport did he play?

3. What was his first job?

4. What was his job with the Rockefeller Foundation that began in 1944?

5. What did Norman spend 15 years researching in Mexico?

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

1. How does developing disease resistant strains of wheat help alleviate global hunger?

2. How did Norman Borlaug revolutionize agriculture in regards to growing wheat?

3. Why do you think Norman was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and not a Nobel Prize in science?