In a brief conversation with ISU president Wendy Wintersteen,.Prof..Schnable notes proso's water efficiency, and the potential for it to substitute for corn in animal feed and bioethanol production. The "third crop" reference has to do with the fact Iowa is particularly known for production of two main crops: corn and soybeans.

"Pat Schnable is a distinguished professor at Iowa State University where he holds an endowed chair in genetics and is an endowed scholar in agricultural entrepreneurship. Schnable directs ISU's Plant Sciences Institute that is fostering collaborations among plant scientists, engineers and computational scientists."

His son, James Schnable, who is mentioned in the beginning of the video, is a professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln.