Extending a Wheat Sheaf for Peace

In 1959, at the height of the nuclear tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev made an unprecedented visit to America, eventually ending up on the farm of Roswell Garst near Coon Rapids, Iowa. The Soviet leader and his host spent considerable time admiring the impressive ears of corn that Garst was able to grow with the enhanced seeds that his company produced.

This exchange led to a series of visits to the Soviet Union over the next four decades b…