Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 14896 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2016 SPECIAL RECOGNITION EACH year at the Renville County All-Ag Celebration in Minnesota is the presenta- tion of the Distinguished Service Award by the Renville County Corn and Soybean Growers. The honoree at this year’s March 21 event was Marv Boerboom, recently retired after 37.5 years with DeKalb brand, which included 20 years heading up Monsanto’s northern corn breeding and corn research program in Olivia. Boerboom developed inbreds that have been parents of more than 156 different hybrids, which contributed to more than 62 million units of sales and growing and 155 million acres of corn across the Corn Belt. He has been granted 66 inbred patents with 34 patents still pending. These numbers literally are unbe- lievable with the seed industry. His legacy goes far beyond his inbred patent numbers. Boerboom was recognized as a Monsanto Senior Fellow in 2002. In 2005, he received the Monsanto Science and Technology Career Award. In 2008, he was honored with the Edgar M. Queeny Award, Monsanto’s highest award for science and technology. Perhaps the honor that rings the bell for his genetic achievements was in 2012 when he was awarded the National Association of Plant Breeders first ever Commercial Impact Award. Raised on a farm near Cottonwood, Minn., Boerboom’s higher education career started at Ridgewater College where he earned an associate’s degree in agronomy. Next was his bachelor’s from the University of Minnesota; then both his master’s and doctorate at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Early work experiences included an internship with Quaker Oats where he worked with various FFA chapters participating in the Oat Yield Contest sponsored by Quaker Oats. The mission was to instruct on oat production strategies to coax higher yields and better quality oats. He also visited several elevators plus farmers who were out collecting random samples of oats. “Quaker Oats was trying to identify the counties with the highest protein contents because Quaker Oats was guaranteeing the protein content of their oat meal,” Boerboom explains. A retired DeKalb corn breeder reflects on his 37-plus year career with the company, the role of plant breeding and the seed industry in general.Dick Hagen Breeding Corn Inbreds that Make an Impact Minnesota’s Marv Boerboom, a successful DeKalb corn breeder, has 66 inbred patents with 34 still pending.