This year marks the 10 year anniversary of the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska. It was the vision of Bob Daugherty, the founder of Valmont Industries, which manufactures pivot irrigation systems serving farms around the globe, to establish a research institute focused on achieving water and food security for our world.
It was an audacious goal and one the University of Nebraska was uniquely equipped to take on. With a generous $50 million gift from the Daugherty Foundation and the leadership of founding board members J.B. Milliken, then-president of the University of Nebraska; Jeff Raikes, former Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and Mogens Bay, Chair of the Robert B. Daugherty Foundation, the institute was officially launched in October 2010.