The Ordinary Genius: A Life of Arnold Platt
Ken Hoeppner
“The world needs more Arnold Platts.” —Peter Lougheed
Arnold W. Platt deliberately set out to plant a seed of positive change and the development of agriculture in Alberta owes much to his efforts. He was the plant breeder who saved the prairies from the ravages of the wheat stem sawfly by developing Rescue wheat. As president of the Farmers’ Union of Alberta, or CEO of the United Farmers of Alberta co-operative, or as a commissioner for the McPherson Royal Commission on Transportation, Platt applied his inventive thinking to the problems of rural economy in twentieth century Alberta. He helped found the Rural Education and Development Centre and the Goldeye Centre. He was instrumental in arranging the first sales of Canadian wheat to the Soviet Union and he served on several provincial committees that dealt with such issues as Hutterite land tenure and the construction of the Oldman River Dam.
In The Ordinary Genius, Ken Hoeppner pays homage to the accomplishments of this modest man whose life’s work continues to resonate in farmlands across the Prairies. This detailed and well researched story will appeal to western history enthusiasts, agriculture specialists, farmers, and those concerned with
rural economic development.
About the Author
A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary, Ken Hoeppner has taught at post-secondary institutions in Alberta. During the 1970s he worked with Arnold Platt on issues of land use and communal farming.
336 pages • B&W photographs, introduction, notes, bibliography, index
978-0-88864-480-0
6’’ x 9’’ • $29.95 (T) paper
Canadian History/Biography/Agriculture
| Reviews |
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| “A graduate of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agriculture, Platt was hired by Canada’s Dominion Experimental Farms Service to help combat the sawfly, an insect that had decimated western wheat farms in the ’30s and ’40s. He cross-bred avavailable wheat strains until he came up with a solid-stemmed variety he called Rescue wheat….The farming community continues to benefit from Platt’s persistence, [Hoeppner] said. ‘This particular piece of work has remained valuable and continues to be the basis for all sawfly resistant wheat.’” Ileiren Poon, Express News, Apr 18, 2008. |
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| “On my several visits to the Punjab I often heard the agriculturists credit the Prairie geniuses that made the wheat crops so productive. Platt saved the Prairie crop from Sawfly with his development of RESCUE wheat. The story of his life is an important part of our Canadian history.” Ron MacIsaac, Dec 5, 2007 |
