NASHUA - Information is a farmer's best friend. Soil, seeds and water are pretty important, too. Knowing how to use the three properly is the secret to making money.

The grand opening of the Borlaug Learning Center Wednesday afternoon will ensure producers get the latest crop research data in a timely manner for years to come. About 350 people attended the ceremony and toured the facility, which cost an estimated $750,000, at the Northeast Iowa Research Farm near Nashua.

Iowa State University Extension and the Northeast Iowa Agricultural Experimental Association, which owns the 260-acre farm, joined forces to make the center a reality. The association began an intensive fundraising campaign more than three years ago and contributed more $250,000 toward the project. ISU Extension will pay the rest.

Harvin Meyer of Wellsburg wrote the first check, donating $5,000. Walking through the center - which features a display with memorabilia honoring the center's namesake, Norman Borlaug of Cresco - the farmer was awestruck.

"It's beautiful. What more can you say?" Meyer said. "We needed this building."

The 6,000-square-foot facility has six offices, a lab, computer room and a large meeting area - all with the latest technological advancements, like video conferencing.

The center replaces what essentially was a large machine shed that contained an office, a small, antiquated meeting room and a maintenance shop for farm equipment. When large groups met to get the latest crop research and marketing tips in the past, they were herded into the shop void of modern technology - a white bed sheet served as a projection screen.

Despite the primitive conditions, Meyer said he learned a lot from those meetings. He used fertilizer research from the farm to cut his nitrogen use in half without sacrificing corn yields.

Meyer said the new facility is worth every penny he donated knowing the days in the shop are gone.

"The research farm has made more money for me than I could ever pay back," he added.

The Borlaug Learning Center will house research farm employees and eventually several ISU Extension field specialists concentrating on crops, livestock, engineering. Mark Honeyman, coordinator of ISU research farms, said that will benefit farmers statewide.

Having researchers and ag specialists in the same place is bound to inspire new experiments and speed up information getting to farmers, he said.

"The whole concept is there's going to be a synergy between Extension and the research farm - specialists rubbing shoulders with Ken (Pecinovski, farm superintendent) asking why did this happen. That's a powerful combination," Honeyman said.

Finishing and eventually staffing the research center didn't come without challenges. The grand opening was delayed by six months, primarily due to weather-related construction delays, officials said. The facility also cost nearly twice as much as originally planned.

Budget cuts earlier this year forced ISU to restructure Extension, pairing down 97 county directors and five regional directors to 20 regional positions. Some open ag specialist jobs weren't immediately filled, and some will be consolidated due to early retirements. The restructuring also scrapped plans to fully man the center. An outgoing regional director and a administrative assistant will represent Extension for now at the facility.

Jack Payne, ISU vice president for extension and outreach, said the university is committed to fully staffing the center. However, no timetable was set.

"I don't think donors will be disappointed with ISU's presence," he said.

The center is named for Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Known as the father of the Green Revolution, Borlaug developed high-yielding wheat varieties that kept millions of people from starving in India and Pakistan in the 1960s.

Health issues prevented Borlaug, who is 95, from attending the ceremony. His sister, Charlotte Culbert, represented her brother. She said he always had an inquisitive mind and a kind heart.

"I know he would be very proud," Culbert said. "I wish he was well enough to come back to see everything done in his honor. When growing up, we always thought someday Norm would do something special."

Naming an ag research center after a man who dedicated his life to helping others through agriculture is the ultimate compliment, area farmers said.

"He's one of my heroes," said Pam Johnson, a farmer from Floyd.