William James FarrerBorn 3 Apr 1845; died 16 Apr 1906 at age 61.British-born Australian agricultural researcher who developed several varieties of drought- and rust-resistant wheat that made possible a great expansion of Australia's wheat belt. Farrer believed that he could produce a new strain which would be rust-resistant, as well as being suitable for Australian conditions. From 1889, although often ill, Farrer worked hard toward this goal for many hours a day and well into the night to record his results. His variety of wheat, noted for its drought-resistant qualities, was distributed in 1900 and therefore was called Federation. As a result, the average wheat yield per acre rose by about three bushels between 1900 and 1920. His wheats were not so much rust-resistant as rust escaping because of their early maturity. |
