Sophia Norman and Creigh Rourke were named as Borlaug Scholars for their participation in the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute.

Two Mid-Prairie FFA chapter members participated in the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute at ISU on April 24. Sophia Norman and Creigh Rourke, along with 312 students from across the state, engaged in interactive immersion sessions that covered the topics of plant genetics, human nutrition, food security in Iowa, sustainability, and the environment. Governor Terry Branstad, Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, and former DuPont Pioneer President Paul Schickler were among several speakers for the sixth annual event. In order to participate, each student was required to write a research paper identifying a challenge affecting food security in a developing nation. The students then proposed a solution and presented their findings to a panel of peers and experts at the event. Norman’s paper was on climate volatility in Mexico and Rourke’s paper was about how agricultural education could help Nicaragua.