The Forever Green community is mourning the loss of our friend, colleague and leader, Dr. Don Wyse.
Wyse, co-founder and co-director of the Forever Green Initiative, died July 2, 2024 with his wife and family at his side after suffering injuries in a fall a few days prior. He was 77. Read his obituary
Heralded as a “crop scientist and visionary of regenerative agriculture who spearheaded what may be the second Green Revolution” by the Star Tribune, Wyse’s legacy is undeniable. Over more than 50 years, across all reaches of Minnesota, he displayed what MPR News described as a “fervent advocacy for sustainable crops and building the networks to grow them”.
“He was entirely convinced that if we are going to be good stewards of land and water and wildlife and rural communities, that would take all hands on deck,” Dr. Nick Jordan told MPR News about his fellow Forever Green Initiative co-director. “The private sector, government, universities, farmers, rural communities, environmentalists all had to put their shoulders together.”
Here’s the New York Times, in 2022, about Wyse’s legacy: “After 20 years of quiet effort, Dr. Wyse and his teams may be on the brink of success. In the next decade, if his vision holds true, the Upper Midwest’s Corn Belt could become the most forward-thinking agricultural region in the country.”
While Forever Green will feel Don’s absence long into the future, we have been heartened by so many of the amazing stories and tributes that have been shared. Here are a few of them:
Land Stewardship Project:
"I always got the sense from Don that he had never forgotten that he was a public servant serving a constituent — the farmer — that was striving to fulfill many roles: food producer, land steward, economic engine of a community. Perhaps it was an attitude he retained from growing up on a farm in Ohio."
Minnesota Environmental Partnership:
“Don thrived on a steady stream of engagement whether it be farmers, community people and processors to corporate institutions, elected leaders, agency staff, funders, a wide range of NGOs, other researchers and academics. This is the “secret sauce” that distinguishes so much of Don’s work. He wasn’t satisfied with just developing new plant materials. He formed the networks and partnerships to not only support work on a wide range of “Continuous Living Cover” crops, but also set up systems to support the commercialization of these crops from farm field to kitchen table or whatever the end use may be.”
Friends of the Mississippi River:
“That’s the way things went with Don: His imagination and clarity of purpose roped you in, and before you knew it you had made his vision your own; signing on the dotted line was just a formality.”