Sneak Preview: Julie Borlaug’s Keynote Talk
18 April 2016 Agriculture advocate Julie Borlaug says her famous grandfather Norman Borlaug was pressured to forgo his now-famous shuttle breeding technique because it was too expensive and failed to adhere to agriculture conventions of the time. But he persisted, eventually halving the time needed to breed new varieties. This new breeding technique coupled with crossbred varieties yielded wheat stands that are credited with feeding a billion people.
“It was because of this new technology that he was able to breed [dwarf wheat that was resistant to rust] and why the Green Revolution was so successful,” Julie Borlaug says. “It’s a perfect example of why technology was so important to my grandfather and why from that point forward he was such an outspoken supporter of technology. He always said there was no technology too advanced for a smallholder farmer.”
Julie Borlaug isAssociate Director of External Relations at the Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and also handles Strategic Initiatives for Corporate Relations with AgriLife Research at Texas A&M, where her grandfather was a Distinguished Professor of International Agriculture. She is a frequent public speaker who promotes modern agriculture and the proliferation of crop production technologies, and she will discuss these topics along with “The Borlaug Legacy” during her keynote talk at the AgriBusiness Global Trade Summit in Orlando, Aug. 17-19.
Key points in her talk will include:
• How agriculture technology can feed a burgeoning population,
• How technology must address water use and climate change,
• The role of agribusinesses in helping to proliferate technology,
• Public outreach and how to be an advocate for agriculture technology, and
• Public-private partnerships.
Borlaug says agribusinesses
must play a stronger role in helping
their communities understand the
value of agriculture and the pressure on food production systems for future
food security. “I think we have to remind people that had we not had innovation in agriculture … then we wouldn’t have grown out of an agrarian economy and would not have the lifestyles that we have now. It’s so important to remind people why technology has always been present in agriculture and why we still need it.”
Visit TradeSummit.com for more on Julie Borlaug, the Trade Summit agenda, and participating companies.
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