August 21, 2009
AMES, Iowa - An open house and dedication for the Borlaug Learning Center will be held Sept. 2 at the Iowa State University Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua.
The building is named after Cresco native Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the Green Revolution. The dedication is sponsored by the Northeast Iowa Agricultural Experimental Association (NEIAEA), which owns the Northeast Research Farm and partners with Iowa State to conduct research. The groundbreaking for the building was held in September 2007.
The opening ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. Featured speakers include: Mark Mueller, president of NEIAEA; Kay Connelly, co-chair of the NEIAEA fund-raising committee; Iowa State President Gregory Geoffroy; Wendy Wintersteen, dean of Iowa State's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and Jack Payne, Iowa State vice president for Extension and Outreach.
NEIAEA fund-raising efforts raised more than $250,000 in private funding and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences provided the remaining funds. The Borlaug Learning Center will be used to expand research-based educational activities for Iowans.
A display highlights Borlaug's achievements and his continued effort to provide food security and promote world peace. The building provides office space and meeting rooms for staff and public use and incorporates a number of energy-saving features. Lois Warme, Iowa State associate professor in the College of Design, developed the center's interior design with the assistance of Iowa State design students and a NEIAEA committee.
Tours of the learning center, research plots, gardens, vineyards and the automated weather station will be conducted from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. A meal will be served from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The event is open and free to the public and pre-registration is not required.
The farm is located 1.5 miles west of Nashua on county road B 60, one mile south on Windfall Avenue and a quarter mile east on 290th Street.