Category Archives: World Ag Forum

Behind the Scenes at the St. Louis Zoo

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There’s always plenty of cool things to see and do when you follow events for AgWired and the other ZimmComm New Media Web sites, but this evening’s event at the St. Louis Zoo is among the coolest… figuratively and literally!

As part of the opening reception of the World Agricultural Forum, our friends at Novus International sponsored a behind-the-scenes tour of the St. Louis Zoo… truly one of the world’s greatest zoos. I’m posting a few pictures here, and I hope to win my battle with Flickr to post more at that site soon.
penguin3
As I said, it was indeed a cool tour, as we started out seeing what goes on with the penguins and puffins. These two guys were more than glad to pose for pictures… a common theme for many of the animals at the zoo!
cheetah
If these guys look all cute and cuddly as your pet cat, keep in mind that not only would a cheetah, able to run about 70 mph, easily chase you down, but it would also kill you and eat you. Come to think of it, if your cat got big enough, it probably would, too!
hyena
This guy’s another pretty tough character. Looked like we interrupted his nap… or his lunch. Look at those eyes… without that pit and fence between us, I have a feeling I would be the next lunch.
animalnutrition
It only makes sense that the folks at Novus, who are so dedicated to animal nutrition, would be one of the benefactors of the zoo’s animal nutrition program. These folks at the zoo are doing some pretty important work, making sure these magnificent beasts are well taken care of.
monkeyfood
I thought this one was too funny! At the end of our animal nutrition facility tour, we all got (well, at least we all were offered) biscuits designed for the primates. As most of us who tried it would agree (and, yes, I did eat one… proving that once again that broadcasters and news people will eat ANYTHING they’re offered for free!), it wasn’t bad. It wasn’t GOOD… but it wasn’t bad.

World Ag Forum photo set

Novus Hosts Opening Reception at World Ag Forum

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worldagforum2I had such a good time the last time I covered an event that our friends at Novus International sponsored (the Undergraduate Networking Day back in April), that I just couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for us at the World Agricultural Forum. Well, they did not disappoint as they provided those who took the bus ride over to the St. Louis Zoo a behind-the-scenes tour of the world famous St. Louis Zoo. I’ve been there a couple of times, but this time I got to see some of what goes on to make this great institution run, including a look at the penguin and puffin exhibit and a look at the zoo’s animal nutrition lab where they mix up the daily meals for the hundreds of animals that make the zoo their home.

simons1Before we took off on our tour, I caught up with Novus CEO and President Thad Simons. While his company was sponsoring the reception and tour, it was also part of the bigger conversation at World Ag Forum of how to meet the challenges of feeding the world. He says the world’s population right now is about 6.5 billion people… and all of them are not being fed properly. He says the challenge becomes even more daunting when you consider the population is expecting to explode to more than 9 billion by the year 2050. But he believes ag technology is up to the task ahead.

“We know the technologies are there. It can be done if we can find ways to work together across the world.” That’s why he says an international forum like this is so important.

Simons adds that it is imperative that we come up with solutions to the agricultural issues facing the world today, because no agriculture means no food; no food means no hope.

Listen to all of my conversation with Thad here:

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World Ag Forum photo set

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Water, Food, Fiber, Fuel and Finances Focus of World Ag Forum

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worldagforum1Hello for St. Louis, Mo. where the World Agricultural Forum is getting underway! We’ll be here all week covering the events and conversations that impact ag producers, not just in this country, but globally as well.

Tonight, delegates from countries around the world were welcomed to this year’s events with a reception and behind-the-scenes tour of the famous St. Louis Zoo sponosred by our friends at Novus International (I’ll have more about that tour later).

guarraiaBefore everything got kicked off, I caught up with Dr. Leonard J. Guarraia, Chairman and CEO of the World Ag Forum. He says the major issues facing agriculture today are water availability, credit availability, production levels and the ability to provide the foodstuffs and feedstocks to feed and fuel the planet. He says a meeting such as this one give people from divergent backgrounds a place to discuss their concerns and plan for what might be next down the pike.

“The focus of this meeting is not on what’s happened in the past but what do we see happeneing one two three years down the road. Because it’s extremely easy to say what’s happened; it’s extremely difficult, but far more important, to look at what’s going to happen in the future.”

Guarraia says out of all the issues facing agriculture water is the most serious. He says 65 percent of the world’s population live in water-short areas. He even points to China where’s there’s talk about moving the capital of Beijing because of a water shortage. He says this gathering of ag leaders and decision makers from around the world should generate enough ideas that some solutions will be found. He says they’ve got the major food producers, the major financiers (the bankers), the processors, the shippers… the whole food chain… so at least they’ve got all the right people in place.

Guarraia hopes the ag credit pinch around the world will start to lessen and more money will flow. But he says the uncertainty of too many areas, especially in some of the developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, still makes some ag investments a risky proposition. But he remains optimistic a solution will be found.

“This is agriculture, and agriculture is always sunny. There are solutions, absolutely, and these people can come up with them because it’s in everyone’s vested interest to do so. We have to solve the problems because of the societal and social consequences of not solving the problems.”

You can hear all of my conversation with Guarraia here:

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World Ag Forum photo set

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World Ag Forum Coming to St. Louis

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worldagforumNext week, there’s a pretty important event for the international farming community as the World Agricultural Forum comes to downtown St. Louis, Mo., May 17-20th at the St. Louis Ballpark Hilton Hotel. And AgWired will be there!

This press release says the forum’s Sixth Biennial World Congress is entitled “Our Global Priority: Food Security—Financial, Trade and Technical Services” and is one of the world’s largest biennial gatherings of agricultural leaders in government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and academia brought together to discuss the world’s growing population and the impacts on food, fuel, fiber and water in both emerging and developed markets:

Keynote speakers for the 2009 World Congress include: Right Honorable James Bolger, ONZ, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Ambassador to the United States, and current chairman of the WAF advisory board, Honorable Raghuveera Reddy, the
Minister of Agriculture for Andhra Pradesh, India and Paul Collier, author of The Bottom Billion and professor at Oxford University.

“The World Congress is particularly important as this year’s agenda is designed to encourage world leaders to discuss what financial, technical and trade strategies need to be developed, adopted or enhanced for a food-secure world,” said Ambassador Bolger.
“Progressive, far-reaching solutions to global problems are needed now more than ever, with the expansion of the agribusiness industry beyond food and into innovative energy sources, industrial products and pharmaceuticals. This World Congress will seek
solutions to issues concerning agricultural production and supply, the crucial resource of water and the impact on agricultural economies and resources during a period of economic uncertainties.”

“Each participant in the Congress will have an active role in developing plans for change,” said Kathleen Moldthan, executive vice president and chief operating officer, WAF. “The World Congress is one of the only opportunities where government, NGOs
and the private sector can share an equal voice. We have seen many partnerships emerge from these gatherings that would have never come to fruition in a different setting. Its these partnerships that illustrate the value of WAF and initiate the actions for change.”

I’ll be there for part of the sessions with Cindy picking up the the second half. We’ll either see you in St. Louis or on the Web here at Agwired.com!

World Ag Forum Empowering Agriculture

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Ray CescaOn my way to the National Farm Machinery Show I stopped for the combined meeting of the Gateway NAMA and St. Louis Agribusiness Club. Our featured speaker is Mr. Raymond Cesca, President of the World Agricultural Forum. His presentation is “The World Agricultural Forum: Empowering Agriculture to Drive Economic Growth” He’s actually in the middle of it right now. Of course I brought my Mac inside.

Ray focused his comments on this idea of how agricultural production can be the mechanism that developing nation countries can use to grow their economies. He believes that for-profit companies can get involved and not only help overcome the problems of poverty and starvation but still make a profit doing so.

He issued an invitation to anyone who would like to learn more to attend this year’s World Ag Forum Regional Congress which will be held in Kampala, Uganda, September 3-5. You can find the agenda for the Congress here.

Prior to the meeting I did a short interview with Ray on the topic which you can listen to here:

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2008 World Agricultural Forum

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2008 World Ag ForumJust so you can get this on your calendars in case it’s not already.

The Republic of Uganda will host the World Agricultural Forum’s Regional Congress on September 3-5, 2008 in Kampala, Uganda. This first Congress in Africa is titled “By Africa, For Africa: Creating Wealth Through Investing in Agriculture.” The Congress will bring together recognized leaders from many disciplines who will discuss, debate and propose the means by which sustainable agriculture-based solutions can be implemented to help “feed every man, woman and child” in Africa.

“It is my pleasure to welcome the World Agricultural Forum’s 2008 African Congress to Uganda,” said His Excellency Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda. “Africa, as a whole, is enjoying the highest growth rates in 30 years. Our continent is breaking old paradigms in order to integrate profitably into the global economy and liberate itself. We are working to build the agricultural infrastructure that will boost our economic standings and transform Africa. Agriculture is vital to Africa’s survival, just as this influential meeting of the minds is essential to reveal the emerging new Africa.”

Sec. Johanns at World Agricultural Forum Congress

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Sec. of Ag Johanns and JuliaU. S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns was on hand at the World Agricultural Forum Congress. Here he is getting interviewed by Mizzou Ag Journalism blogger Julia Shuck. His full comments are available online. Here’s an excerpt.

Ladies and gentlemen, in the Doha talks, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really have a profound impact on hunger and poverty in the developing world. Two-thirds of the WTO member countries are developing countries; 32 of these are considered least developed countries, truly the poorest of the poor. In these countries, over 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas where agriculture is the employer.

The World Bank has calculated that roughly half of the global economic benefit from free trade would be enjoyed by developing countries. And more than 90 percent of their gains would come from reducing tariffs. The Peterson Institute of International Economics estimates global free trade could lift as many as 500 million people out of poverty and inject $200 billion annually into the economies of developing countries.

The simple fact is economic growth spurred by trade liberalization can have a profound impact, actually far more than voluntary aid donations although those are enormously important also. When the day comes that the nations of the world agree on greater trade liberalization, the United States is ready to be a good trading partner.

World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

Racing and Food On The ZimmCast

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ZimmCast-118 - Bobby Rahal and World Ag ForumThis week on the ZimmCast (I know I’m a little late) you can hear an anecdote from Bobby Rahal about his racing career and learn more about the World Agricultural Forum.

Bobby says that his best time in racing was when he won. That’s not surprising. I’m sure I’ll see him again later this month in Indianapolis at the Indy 500.

Also in the program I’ve got interviews with Ray Cesca, President of the World Agricultural Forum and Leonard Guarraia, founder of the WAF. They talk about the mission of the organization and what they hope to accomplish as this week’s World Congress taking place in St. Louis.

You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: Listen To ZimmCastZimmCast 118 (13 min MP3)

Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:

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The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes.

The World Ag Forum On AgriTalk

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AgriTalkMike Adams, the host of AgriTalk (center) thought I must be going through AgriTalk withdrawal on AgWired since I haven’t posted a picture of them in so long. No, they don’t pay me to do this (they should). I just run into them so many places.

This is Mike interviewing World Agricultural Forum Chairman, James Bolger, this morning. Next to him is the producing machine, John Herath. He’s got a nice camera btw and takes good pictures which you’ll find on their website. An extraordinary thing for a radio show.

I am no longer at the World Congress of the World Agricultural Forum but am expecting to obtain some coverage via the Mizzou Ag Journalism Bloggers.

World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

Address By Mariann Fischer Boel, EU Ag Commissioner

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Mariann Fischer BoelThe Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development for the European Economic Union is Mariann Fischer Boel. She was the keynote speaker on the program today here at the World Agricultural Forum.

You can listen to her speech here while she’s finishing up with questions and answers. In her talk she tries to clear up misconceptions about farmers, farming and the policies of the EU. In particular she provides some historic detail on the EU CAP (Common Ag Policy). She says they’re continuing the move to reduce subsidies. One of the key words heard here is sustainability and she does make a point about the care the EU needs to use in moving forward so that their farmers sustain their prosperity.

You can listen to the speech here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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Grower Perspective on the World Agricultural Forum

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Dick McWardOne of the directors of the World Agricultural Forum is Dick McWard. He’s taking notes during this morning’s speech by Mariann Fischer Boel, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development.

Dick is a producer from Illinois who is also retired from Bunge North America where he worked in industry affairs. I asked him for his perspective on an event like the 2007 World Congress of the World Agricultural Forum (that’s the official title of the event). He says that this event provides growers like him with the opportunity to open up new markets around the world.

You can listen to my interview with Dick here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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Flowers From Columbia

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Ernesto VelezThe flower man from Columbia is Ernesto Velez, Columbian Association of Flower Exporters. He gave us a presentation at our evening reception at the World Agricultural Forum here this evening.

He said that there was a 90+% chance that the dozen carnations I bought Cindy on Sunday came from Columbia.

If you’d like to learn about where a major source of our cut flowers come from here in the United States you might be interested to hear his presentation.

You can listen to the Ernesto Velez presentation here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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Sunset in St. Louis

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St. Louis SunsetIt is definitely the end of the day here in St. Louis at the World Agricultural Forum. We had a very nice reception. Just check out the photo album.

The top of the hotel has a very nice outside area from which we had a good view of the city and the sunset.

The best part was the ice sculpture filled with shrimp. You’ll have to find that in the photo album.

World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

Rich Keller On The Job

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Rich KellerOne of the people covering the World Agricultural Forum is Rich Keller. Rich is the editor of AgProfessional and AgLender, Vance Publishing. I think he dared me to take his picture as he was enjoying a big soft pretzel on a break.

I’m sure there are some dares I won’t take but it’s nice to see Rich in action.

It’s almost the end of the first day of the Forum and it’s been a pretty busy one. The last session is just finishing up before tonight’s reception.

Don’t forget to check out the online photo album.

World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

Bunge North America CEO Wants Us To Think Global

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Carl HausmannThe President and CEO of Bunge North America is Carl Hausmann. He was part of a panel today at the World Agricultural Forum that addressed the needs of food, fuel, fiber and water.

I interviewed Carl after the session and asked what he thought one of the main concerns was that people expressed here. He says that when it comes to biofuels the subject needs to be more than a national issue, that it’s a global issue. He says that when countries individually deal with it through things like subsidies that it tends to distort world trade. He would like to think that this forum will not only be an exchange of ideas among the participants but that they will leave and effect the political debate in their countries. He believes biofuels will be with us well into the future. He also says that the rapid increase in the price of corn has been a shocker to many but that the commodity has been undervalued for years and that the world will become used to $3.50 to $4 corn.

You can listen to my interview with Carl here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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WAF President Sees Ag As Economic Engine For Growth

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Raymond Cesca and Leonard GuarraiaThe president of the World Agricultural Forum is Raymond Cesca, pictured here to the left of Leonard Guarraia.

I interviewed Ray in between sessions earlier today about what he hopes to see accomplished. He says the theme of investing in agriculture is meant to be about more than just food and fuel but about successful business models and food production. He says they hope to see agriculture as the economic engine for growth and that investment in agriculture can be the driver for it.

You can listen to my interview with Ray here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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Press Conference With Dr. Rajashekara Reddy

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Hon. Dr. Rajashekara ReddyAnother key figure on the program today at the World Agricultural Forum was the Hon. Dr. Rajashekara Reddy, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh, India. He participated in the opening session then held a press conference this afternoon.

I recorded his press conference for you. In it he was first asked about the price of seed in India and what he thought about it. You can listen to how he answers that. He basically wondered why seed from Monsanto costs so much in India vs. the United States. I asked him about biofuels production in his country and what it means to the economy there. He says they’ve only just begun the development of “fuel crops” and says it will be several years before it becomes significant but he’d like to see a goal of having biofuels replace at least 5% of their fuel consumption as soon as possible. He also addresses high world dairy prices and the increase in cotton production in India.

You can listen to Dr. Reddy’s press conference here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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Deere CEO Addresses World Agricultural Forum

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Robert LaneOne of the first speakers on the program here at the World Agricultural Forum was Robert Lane, Chairman and CEO of Deere & Company.

I’ve got his full comments here for you to listen to if you’d like. It’s about 22 minutes. In it he speaks to the topic of investing in agriculture to create prosperity, the theme of the event. He sees it as a timely topic and says right away that we need to have a sustainable level of prosperity. For that to happen he would like to see a more open business environment that’s conducive to investment. He says there needs to be true transparency. He says that new technology is absolutely necessary for success and that’s most likely to develop in open economies. He also says that green (as in environmental) is a societal issue which makes it a global business issue. He talks about how his company is working to be more involved in these things through acquisitions, new products and the involvement in organizations around the world working on these issues.

You can listen to Robert Lane’s comments here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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World Agricultural Forum Founder Describes Mission

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WAF CEO Leonard GuarraiaThe founder and CEO of the World Agricultural Forum is Leonard Guarraia. After he welcomed everyone to this year’s Forum I was able to talk with him briefly about the mission of the Forum and what he hopes gets accomplished here.

He says they want to bring together leaders from around the world for discussion, get the press to listen and understand agriculture’s role and to take action. He says they have over 400 people attending which is well over what they expected but he’s happy with that.

You can listen to my interview with Leonard Guarraia here:

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World Agricultural Forum Photo Album

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