On this day in agriculture history | March 25

2 years ago

Farmers' concerns grew as COVID-19's impact on agriculture strengthened through late March in 2020. Katherine Maracano-Bell contract finishes pigs with her husband, BJ, on their southeast Iowa farm. She told Successful Farming, "My husband tries to remain confident, but I worry because it's only the two of us working the livestock side of this farm, and there are a lot of pigs. We don't have hired help. When we have to load and send hogs for processing, we depend on local help."

• READ MORE: What COVID-19 means down on the farm

3 years ago

Then president Donald Trump signed disaster proclamations for Iowa and Nebraska, making federal assistance available in both states after flooding devastated the region.

• READ MORE: Trump approves disaster aid to Iowa for flooding

8 years ago

A statue of Norman Borlaug, sculpted by artist Benjamin Victor, was added to the collection in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2014. The National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol is composed of statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history.

11 years ago

Secretary of agriculture Tom Vilsack and his wife, Christie, met with more than 90 students and educators from Mason City High School in Mason City, Iowa, at the USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., on March 25, 2011. Secretary Vilsack talked about the mission of the USDA, the many places around the world that the USDA supports, and also mentioned some noted Iowans in government and agriculture history. The Vilsacks answered several questions from the students, from "What is your day like?" to "What are the major problems USDA faces?"

12 years ago

A large swath of Nebraska was suffering from extreme drought in 2003. Many other top corn growing states including Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and the Dakotas faced severe drought conditions.

108 years ago

American agronomist Norman Borlaug, often called the "Father of the Green Revolution," was born on a small farm south of Cresco, Iowa. Over the course of his career Borlaug was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal. He is credited with saving over 1 billion people around the world from starvation.