A Conversation of Strategies for Texas Success

On Tuesday, I attended a memorial service for Norman Borlaug – an American agronomist and humanitarian. Borlaug is one of only five individuals to date who has received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.

Shortly after the service, I visited with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who spoke at the memorial. It was a good opportunity to listen to his ideas for American agriculture and share with him some priorities for Texas.

I let him know we appreciate the responsiveness of the USDA state offices in Texas and that we seek to have similar relationships at the senior level in Washington, DC. The USDA state offices are staffed by a fine bunch of people who work hard to support our producers, but many decisions important to Texas are made in Washington.

I also conveyed to him the diversity of Texas agricultural production and how we differ from other states with respect to having multiple needs requiring a direct partnership with USDA. Disaster assistance, trade/exports, plant and animal health, and rural economic development were prioritized issues. Renewable fuels were also discussed and I stressed the need to find win-win strategies that are sustainable and market based.

Due to time constraints our meeting ended before we could finish discussing other topics, including nutrition and the need to encourage the 3 E’s of Healthy Living - Education, Exercise and Eating Right.

I look forward to picking up where we left off and continuing our conversation of strategies for Texas success.

In Memoriam: Norman Borlaug 1914-2009

Texas, America and the world have lost a great man. Norman Borlaug passed away late Saturday night in Dallas. He was 95. The man often referred to as "the father of the green revolution," planted many seeds in his life, which will continue to grow his legacy for generations to come.

Mr. Borlaug is credited with feeding millions of the world's hungry. In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to high-yield crop varieties and bringing other agricultural innovations to the developing nations.

The Borlaug Institute, based at Texas A&M, is renowned around the globe for its nation building and ability to strengthen agriculture practices through scientific training and research opportunities.

I was recently honored to see Mr. Borlaug’s vision first hand. Earlier this year, I traveled to Iraq with a team from the Borlaug Institute. Scientists are in the war-torn nation giving Iraqi farmers the knowledge and support to rebuild the agriculture infrastructure. I viewed how the Institute's mission, “peace cannot be built on empty stomachs,” truly is working. Farms that have not produced for decades are now beginning to yield a bounty that will one day feed the Iraqi people and help the nation stand on its on own feet.

Norman Borlaug created a better world, gave people hope and left us with a road map to continue his dream of feeding those who are starving. He will be missed, but now he has passed the baton and it is up to us to ensure we continue to cultivate the vision he planted.