Thursday was an amazing day for participants of the 2015 New Century Farmer program.
Four days into the five-day seminar focused on the future of production agriculture, the 50 participants from across the nation were joined by Dr. Kenneth M. Quinn, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and currently the leader of the World Food Prize Foundation. He joined WFP on January 1, 2000, following his retirement from the State Department after a 32 year career in the Foreign Service.
Thursday, Quinn spoke the NCF participants at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates – a fitting setting for a gathering of those who are and will be a part of feeding future generations.
Inspired by the vision of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, the founder of the World Food Prize, Ambassador Quinn has endeavored to build the World Food Prize into “the Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture.” Held each October in Des Moines on or around World Food Day (October 16), the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony, “Borlaug Dialogue” international symposium and Global Youth Institute have grown in size and stature under his direction.
With the support of the John Ruan family, Dr. Quinn has led the campaign which successfully raised $29.8 million to restore the historic Des Moines Public Library and transform it into the World Food Prize Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Hall of Laureates. He provided the personal leadership to have the building designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest possible level of energy efficiency and resource conservation.
The New Century Farmer conference helps students develop their careers in production agriculture by providing them with an opportunity to advance their entrepreneurial leadership, practical knowledge, visioning, global perspective, continuous personal growth.
During the intensive five-day conference in Des Moines, Iowa, participants will network with industry experts, presenters and each other. They will attend a series of workshops and sessions discussing topics ranging from the global marketplace to farm financing, consumer trends and managing risk.
New Century Farmer is supported DuPont Pioneer, Case IH, CSX Corporation, Farm Credit Services and media partner Successful Farming as a special project of the National FFA Foundation.
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