Legacy: Fall 2012

Rocketing plants into space seeks outcomes for Earths farmers and future space explorers.

Like solving a Rubik's cube click by click, Twain Butler works relentlessly to solve the most frustrating problems in agriculture. Butler, 39, grew up on a diverse farming operation that included beef and dairy cattle.

From sunrise to sunset (and beyond), the 400 employees of the Noble Research Institute strive to fulfill their mission of advancing agriculture.

On a sunny day in July, it looks like the quintessential summer camp, where kids hide candy bars in hollowed-out bunk beds or meet their long-lost identical twin. The mess hall buzzes with loud chatter and the clanking of silverware. Screen doors creak open and slam shut with the traffic of busy campers.

With quick wit and his trademark smile, Joe Bouton discusses how his lifes work has helped shape plant breeding worldwide. Throughout his 35-year career as a scientist and educator, the motivation for Joe Bouton, Ph.D., has been simple help farmers and ranchers.

You'd like Jackie Kelley if you met her. She's unassuming and proper. She's bright-spirited and jovial. Here at the Noble Research Institute, she works in the Communications Department, handling whatever tasks are asked of her (and then some). A self-taught copy editor, she's the first person that reads everything I write. She makes sure that my participles don't dangle and my commas are unspliced.