In mid October, 40 Borlaug Fellows from 21 countries as far away as Azerbaijan and Zambia were in Des Moines, Iowa, to attend the Borlaug International Symposium and World Food Prize ceremony. These Fellows are part of the Norman E. Borlaug Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Program established by USDA in 2004 to honor Nobel Laureate Norman E. Borlaug. Grace Otitodun, a Borlaug Fellow from Nigeria, authored this blog post:

Last month, I was honored to have the opportunity to attend the 2011 World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa as a fellow in the Borlaug 21^st Century Leadership Program. The event saw participation from hundreds of leaders and experts in policy, industry, and research from all over the world, convened there to discuss global food security and agriculture.  Throughout the week, I encountered countless high-powered individuals who have been working tirelessly to achieve global food security by facilitating increased production among small-scale farmers.  They have made a compelling case for improving the effectiveness of U.S. investments in global food security and for addressing the troubling gap between population growth and food production. Read more »

Miles Cary Johnston lives in the rolling countryside east of Richmond, Va., on land that’s been owned by his family for more than 12 generations. His acreage in New Kent County stretches down to the Pamunkey River and includes open fields, mixed hardwood forests and 16 acres of pine he planted for timber production.

Johnston keeps track of what’s going on with his forest land, and in 2010, he figured it was time to thin his 16 acres of loblolly pines. The stand was starting to look closed in, and Johnston knew from his consulting forester that this would make his trees more susceptible to southern pine beetle, a native bark beetle considered the most destructive forest pest in the South. Read more »

Left to right guest speaker Dr. James E. Pete and Rural Business Specialist Ken Lynch presenting Dr. Pete with one of his drawings.

South Dakota staff held a “kick-off” for Native American Heritage Month in early  November  with opening comments provided by State Director Meeks sharing a PowerPoint – 5 minutes 500 years – with statistical information gathered by the National Congress of American Indians, an Indian Taco meal, and guest speaker Dr. James E. Pete, who also provided a blessing before the meal. Read more »