Iowa officials have declared October 16th “Norman Borlaug Day” in Iowa to honor the Cresco, Iowa native who won the Nobel Peace Prize for developing higher-yielding wheat. Borlaug, who’s 87 years old, spoke to the dozen high schoolers who gathered for a statehouse ceremony honoring him. In an emotional voice he said, “I never thought that this could happen to a little country boy coming back home.” Borlaug told the students to remember that worsening poverty and misery in other parts of the world will keep away economic, social and political stability in Iowa and other countries. Governor Tom Vilsack called Borlaug a true hero who is a great Iowan, scientist and Nobel winner. Vilsack says Borlaug — who’s still doing research — is also visionary. Borlaug’s known as the father of the so-called Green Revolution for his pioneering work on crop science, for which he won the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.
