Five graduate students (Camilla Dreasher Mercado, Jamie Nesbit, Yoonjung Lee, Hunter Kluegel, and Olivia Queisser) from the Department of Plant Pathology attended the 2025 World Food Prize (WFP) event in Des Moines Iowa on October 21-23. The theme for the event’s dialogue was “SOILutions for Security” and highlighted the critical living system (i.e. soil) that underpins all agriculture and human survival. The students attended all of the different dialogue sessions and networked with other attendees at the coffee and lunch breaks. They also were present for the introduction of the 2025 World Food Prize laureate Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a researcher at the Embrapa National Soybean Center in Brazil. Dr. Hungria is a renowned scientist who pioneered the use of symbiotic soil microorganisms as an effective alternative to synthetic fertilizers, saving farmers billions of dollars and increasing plant nutrient uptake while reducing environmental pollution and greenhouse gasses. The department’s own Linda Kinkel was feted at the WFP event by being named one of the Top Agri-food Pioneers for research on plant microbiomes and sustainable agriculture. She also was part of a panel during one of the dialogue sessions.
On the way down to Des Moines, Brian Steffenson, who accompanied the students as a faculty adviser, arranged for a tour of the Borlaug Heritage Farm near Cresco, Iowa. The tour was given by Tom Spindler, who is a member of the Norman Borlaug Heritage Foundation. Steffenson said “The visit to the Borlaug Heritage Farm is a great experience for our students because it gives them a chance to see the humble beginnings and hard-scrabble life that shaped one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived. The World Food Prize event highlights the significant legacy that Borlaug has contributed to future generations of hunger-fighters.”