Senator Lugar awarded Distinguished Service Award by the American Farm Bureau Federation
Professionals
For Immediate Release
Contact: Nick McCormick
(202) 776-1590
nick@thelugarcenter.org
The American Farm Bureau Federation at the Opening Session of its 95th Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas, attended by 5,000 delegates, awarded its highest recognition honor, the Distinguished Service Award, to former Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana. The trophy was presented by President Bob Stallman. The Indiana Farm Bureau nominated Lugar for his lifetime devotion to agriculture, and Don Villwock, President of the Indiana Farm Bureau, was onstage during the presentation.
In his acceptance remarks, Lugar noted the theme of the convention, Heritage and Future, in mentioning his own experiences as a boy on the Lugar farm pulling volunteer corn out of the soybean fields. He mentioned that his dad, Marvin Lugar, was achieving approximately 50 bushels per acre in his corn crops. This year, the Lugar farm enjoyed a 191 bushels per acre corn crop due to agricultural advances in the use of genetically modified seed, advanced soil management techniques, and remarkable new farm equipment. He pointed out that one of the major missions of The Lugar Center in Washington, D.C., is promotion of global food security at a time when over 800 million people in the world suffer chronic hunger. Lugar thanked the American Farm Bureau for significant support during his years as Chairman and his 36 year membership on the United States Senate Agriculture Committee, and he thanked the delegates for their continuing partnership with the work and objectives of The Lugar Center.
