David Garst (September 10, 1926 in Coon Rapids, Iowa – January 9, 2006), was a seed industry leader, farmer, and former Executive President of Garst Seed Company. He also worked in the livestock, fertilizer, and chemical businesses, and contributed to foreign agricultural development projects in Eastern Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean. Garst believed that farming in the United States is fettered by governmental and environmental regulation.[ citation needed ]
Garst was appointed by the Carter administration to the Presidential Mission on Agricultural Development in Central America and the Caribbean. The work of this committee led to the Caribbean Basin Initiative passed under President Ronald Reagan. Garst helped to develop the National Corn Growers Association that promoted open trade with Communist countries and sends aid in the form of farming technology to developing nations. In the 1990s, under the Clinton administration, Garst lead the agricultural portion of a development project in the Staritsky district of Moscow. The project included the development of a dairy industry, egg and broiler houses, hog farms, packing plants, roads, and marketing systems. Garst was a leader in Howard Dean's campaign in Iowa and was an active voice in the opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[ citation needed ]
Garst married Georganne (Jo) Orenstein (October 9, 1928 – March 1, 1984) on July 12, 1949, and Marilyn Ann Shinn on March 23, 1985 (divorced 1996). He married Marilyn Reineke in May 2005. He was the son of agriculturalist Roswell Garst and Elizabeth Henak. [1] [2] [3]
He is credited as bringing forth innovations that helped the corn market. [4]
Thomas James Vilsack is an American politician serving as the 32nd United States secretary of agriculture in the Biden administration. He previously served in the role from 2009 to 2017 during the Obama administration. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 40th governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007.
Coon Rapids is a city in Carroll and Guthrie counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 1,300 at the 2020 census, which is a decrease of 5 from the 2000 census. The small portion of Coon Rapids that lies in Guthrie County is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
KDSM-TV is a television station in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and has studios on Fleur Drive in Des Moines; its transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.
Roswell "Bob" Garst was an American farmer and seed company executive. He developed hybrid corn seed in 1930 that allowed greater crop yields than open-pollinated corn. He was perhaps most well known for hosting Nikita Khrushchev on his farm in Coon Rapids, Iowa, on September 23, 1959. He sold hybrid seed to the Soviet Union beginning in 1955 and played a role in improving US-Soviet communication.
The Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, United States.
Edwin Thomas Meredith was an American entrepreneur, founder of the Meredith Corporation and also served as the U.S. secretary of agriculture in President Woodrow Wilson's administration.
WOI-DT is a television station licensed to Ames, Iowa, United States, serving the Des Moines area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CW affiliate KCWI-TV, also licensed to Ames. The two stations share studios on Westown Parkway in West Des Moines; WOI-DT's transmitter is located in Alleman, Iowa.
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. is a U.S.-based producer of seeds for agriculture. They are a major producer of genetically modified crops with insect and herbicide resistance.
Iowa Speedway is a 7⁄8 mile (1.4 km) oval short track in Newton, Iowa. Since its inaugural season of racing in 2006, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, including events sanctioned by NASCAR and IndyCar. NASCAR has owned the facility since 2019, with Eric Peterson currently serving as the track's president. Iowa Speedway is served by Interstate 80.
E. Thurman Gaskill was an American politician who served as an Iowa State Senator from the 6th District and Assistant Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate. Gaskill was a grain farmer and a director of Meta Financial Group, Incorporated, a bank holding company. He served in the Iowa Senate 1997–2007. He also was a commissioner of both Iowa's Department of Economic Development and its Department of Natural Resources, president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, president of National Corn Growers Association, chairman of the United States Feed Grains Council, and held other agriculture positions.
William Howard Northey was an American politician who served as the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the United States Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa, first elected on November 7, 2006, and sworn in on January 2, 2007. In that position he led the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
The Roswell and Elizabeth Garst Farmstead Historic District is a farm in Guthrie County, Iowa, United States, near the city of Coon Rapids. It is significant as the home of farmer and hybrid corn populizer Roswell Garst. During the 1930s and 1940s, Garst played an active role in the conversion of old-style family farms to modern agribusiness. He was a key marketer of hybrid seed corn, which greatly increased corn yields per acre. Further, he espoused the use of nitrogen and other chemical fertilizers to renew soil so that fields need not be left fallow in order for the soil to replenish, allowing farmers to grow more acres of corn. Additionally, he embraced the use of cellulose from corncobs left after processing seed corn as cattle feed.
Harry H. Stine is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and owner of Stine Seed.
Surinder Mohan (Suri) Sehgal is an Indian-American philanthropist with a long career as a crop scientist, seedsman, entrepreneur, and leading global hybrid seed industry expert. His research and professional successes in the areas of plant breeding and genetics, ag biotechnology, intellectual property, business management, and seed industry development were carried out in executive capacities in several companies in the United States, Belgium, and Germany. After the divestment of a group of four seed companies that Sehgal founded and ran with his wife, Edda Sehgal, the couple created two nonprofit organizations to promote rural development in Suri's country of origin: Sehgal (Family) Foundation in 1998 in the US, and S M Sehgal Foundation in India. The foundation focuses on water security, food security, and social justice, particularly empowerment. A proponent of corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability, Sehgal has also provided support individually and through the foundations for projects related to agriculture research, the preservation of biodiversity and the conservation of natural resources.
The Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (IFCWC) was an umbrella organization serving African-American women's clubs in Iowa. The motto of IFCWC was "Sowing Seeds of Kindness", and the organization was affiliated with the National Association of Colored Women. The club produced a journal called the Iowa Colored Woman. IFCWC sent delegates to represent the state at national conventions and opportunities such as "Colored Women's day" at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The IFCWC is also known for creating a black women's dormitory for the University of Iowa before the school was fully integrated. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 1952 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in the Big Seven Conference during the 1952 college football season. In their sixth year under head coach Abe Stuber, the Cyclones compiled a 3–6 record, finished in sixth place in the conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 199 to 158. They played their home games at Clyde Williams Field in Ames, Iowa.
The 1953 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in the Big Seven Conference during the 1953 college football season. In their seventh and final year under head coach Abe Stuber, the Cyclones compiled a 2–7 record, finished in last place in the conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 211 to 120. They played their home games at Clyde Williams Field in Ames, Iowa.
The 1954 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts in the Big Seven Conference during the 1954 college football season. In their first year under head coach Vince DiFrancesca, the Cyclones compiled a 3–6 record, finished in sixth place in the conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 182 to 151. They played their home games at Clyde Williams Field in Ames, Iowa.
Evelyne Jobe Villines was an American disability rights advocate and political activist who had Poliomyelitis. Villines worked for both the state of Iowa and the federal government as an advocate. The Des Moines Register called her a "nationally known spokeswoman for the disabled" in 1992.
The Gary J. and Matilda Vermeer Farmstead is a historic building located east of Pella, Iowa, United States, in Mahaska County. Gerrit "Gary" Vermeer was born on a farm outside of Pella on September 29, 1918, and was educated in the local schools. He married Matilda Van Gorp at her parents’ farm on February 14, 1941. They farmed a 120-acre (49 ha) farm that had been given to them by his parents. They built this modest house on that farm in 1953 and lived here the rest of their married life. Gary invented a wagon hoist that made it easier to unload corn. It became so popular that he and his cousin, Ralph Vermeer, started the Vermeer Company to manufacture the device as well as other agricultural implements. In 1971 Gary developed the Vermeer round hay baler, "an invention that revolutionized agriculture." In addition to his business and farming, Gary was involved in the Pella community and The Christian Reformed Church in North America. He died in Pella on February 2, 2009. Matilda, who was born near Pella on February 14, 1920, died on July 19, 2014. They are buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Pella. The farmstead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.