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AMES, Iowa – Ed Schafer, former governor of North Dakota and 29th secretary of agriculture, will present “Innovation in Global Agriculture in the 21st Century” Feb. 9 at Iowa State University.

The lecture will begin at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union on the Iowa State campus. It is free and open to the public.

Schafer’s visit is sponsored by the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Born and raised in Bismarck, N.D., Schafer graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor's degree in business administration and earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Denver. Before entering public life, Schafer was an executive with his family’s business, the Gold Seal Co. in Bismarck, a successful marketer of nationally-known consumer products such as "Mr. Bubble" bubble bath and "Glass Wax" glass cleaner.

Schafer became president of the company in 1978. Under his leadership, Gold Seal's sales climbed to $50 million through acquisitions and new product introductions and its net worth tripled. It was sold in 1986. Schafer then went on to launch several new businesses, including a commercial real estate development company, a fish farm, a classic car dealership and a wireless voice and high-speed data company.

The Agricultural Entrepreneurship Initiative creates a broad understanding of entrepreneurship among faculty and students, provides educational experiences to develop students' entrepreneurial skills and increases interaction between students, faculty and agricultural entrepreneurs.