[Music] Norman borlock changed the world through his work in plant breeding he touched over a billion lives so how will you make a difference how will you leave your fingerprints on the world like Norman you will find that knowledge Vision passion and determination are key Norman Ernest Boro was born on March 25th 1914 in Cresco Iowa he was a light-hearted young boy already curious about the ways of Mother Nature in those days boys often dropped out of school to work on the farm but Norman's grandfather knew that education would provide the tools needed to make change happen and encourage Norman to make learning a priority at 19 Norman saw real hunger for the first time while visiting Minneapolis Minnesota grown men begged him for pocket change Norman watched a riot break out when milk was dumped in the streets as a protest to low food prices hungry people scrambled past him trying to take anything they could borag was affected profoundly by the scene he was convinced extreme hunger had more than just the stomach in its clutches it strongly influenced the Mind borlock continued his education in Minneapolis he received a degree in forestry in 1937 and a doctorate in Plant Pathology in 1942 after graduating and working in the industry for 2 years Boro moved to Mexico to help farmers improve their crops and increase their yields when Boro arrived he found unchecked disease destroying the wheat crop the soil was exhausted and depleted of nutrients yields were low and farmers were having trouble feeding their families each starving person Boro encountered planted a seed of compassion in his soul he wrote to his wife saying these places I've seen have clubbed my mind they are so poor and depressing I don't know what we can do to help these people but we've got to do something at that time it was hard to imagine that Mexico would ever become self-sufficient in wheat production Norman even wondered if he'd made a mistake taking on the challenge but he didn't lose sight of his goals and the team focused their energy on solving the problems at hand the farmers in Mexico were skeptical about experimental crops the last attempts to improve local crops had done more harm than good when borlock came and tried to explain his vision in broken Spanish they looked at him like he was crazy regardless borlock decided to get to work with or without a tractor driven by a natural momentum he strapped himself to a plow and started cutting furrows himself eventually nearby Farmers noticed and took pity offering him a small tractor Boro could not rest until he found a solution to the problem before the sun rose each morning he was already out in the fields searching for a way to overcome the stem rust epidemic that was destroying the crops the stem rust fungus caused red scab-like blisters to form on the stem these blisters crippled the plants often killing them crops infected with the fungus had very poor yields through plant breeding boro's team needed to increase yields by changing the production system and introducing wheat varieties that would resist the diseases Dr boro's task as a plant breeder was to find a line resistant to the disease cross it with locally adapted susceptible varieties and select the resistant lines Boro and his team accomplished this after only three short years by evaluating and selecting materials twice each year they were able to accelerate the breeding process the projected time to raise resistant plant varieties was cut in half this strategy became known as shuttle breeding because breeding materials were grown under the Summer sun of the central Highlands and the winter sun of the soran desert the lines they developed were insensitive to length of day this made the wheat extremely adaptable to different growing regions in addition to being disease resistant the new wheat varieties were highly responsive to fertilizer with ample fertilizer the new wheat varieties flourished the their heads were promising growing fat with extra grain but with this success came an unexpected challenge the new plants became topheavy and the tall stocks collapsed under the weight of the grain a problem called lodging harvesting was difficult and yield suffered greatly but boro's team refused to give up yet again plant breeding provided a solution that could save the yields while retaining the benefits of a highly responsive crop breeders developed a trait called semidwarf semidwarf wheat grew with stronger shorter stocks that could support the weight of the grain to give you an idea of where semi dwarf wheat came from the first variety called nor and 10 was developed in Japan shortly after World War II nor and 10 was then introduced into US breeding programs by Orville Vogal at Washington State University boro's group introduced the noran 10 breev 14 a High yielding semi- dwarf line into their Mexican breeding program in 1953 following the same breeding approach boro's team solved the lodging Problem by adapting the semi- dwarf line to Mexico these semidwarf varieties became known as Miracle seeds they yielded more than other wheat varieties another jump in yields was incredible yields doubled first because of disease resistance and again because of dwarf wheat what seemed impossible only 15 years earlier became a reality when in 1956 Mexico became self-sufficient in wheat production in 1963 they had enough grain to export and help Supply the rest of the world this coordinated breeding effort affected more than just Mexico borlock expanded his vision and program to India and Pakistan drastically increasing their food production systems as well Pakistan produced 5 million tons in 1965 and 8 million tons in 1970 India produced 12 million tons in 1965 and 20 million tons in 1970 the US agency for International Development labeled the dramatic improvements in food production the Green Revolution Norman Boro refused to settle for anything less he reflected that when wheat was ripening properly with wind blowing across the field you could hear the Beards of the wheat rubbing together it was like Whispering music that once you heard you could never forget boro's work was a symbol of the importance of agriculture in the global community in 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts while handing Boro the prize the committee chairman said more than any other single person of his age he has helped to provide bread for a hungry World Norman Boro translated his vision directly into action through his knowledge and skill in plant breeding he left the world a better place than he found it what's your story how will you apply your knowledge Vision passion and determination we know you can make the difference we're just waiting to see where you leave your fingerprints [Music]