Here in Japan the turmoil at their Ministry of Agriculture precluded our being able to meet with their Minister. Back home it looks like we’ve got a little turnover going on too. I just learned that Mike Johanns has resigned as our Ag Secretary. The picture of him here is from the recent Farm Progress Show. I’ve always been a big fan of Mr. Johanns since I first met him as Governor of Nebraska. I’m betting he’ll continue to be a political force in that state. President Bush has appointed Deputy Agriculture Secretary Charles Conner to take over as acting secretary.
Here’s his letter of resignation as shared by USDA:
Dear Mr. President,
It has been a great honor to serve you and the American people as Secretary of Agriculture for nearly three years. After careful thought and difficult deliberation, I am writing to inform you that I have decided to pursue a new opportunity to serve this great Nation. Please accept my resignation effective today, September 19, 2007 and my gratitude for the distinct privilege to serve in your Cabinet.
Under your leadership and vision, American agriculture is stronger than ever before in history. Your presidency has had a profoundly positive impact on the lives of Americans in both rural and urban communities.
Farm equity, now at $2 trillion, has increased $200 billion per year for the past several years. The debt-to-asset ratio is the lowest in more than 45 years. Projected 2007 net cash income is a record high $86 billion. The average farm household income is projected at $81,500 this year, nearly $20,000 above the average household income in the U.S. Overall farm balance sheets reveal a strong and growing farm economy. Read More
We started out a very long day of activities here at the IFAJ Congress with a sort of a press conference at the “Imagine” studio of the 
Anyway, we heard from several people including the director of agricultural policy for the Japanese Agricultural Cooperative system. 
Have I mentioned sake yet? This is sake country and at one of our receptions in Tokyo I think we had at least 13 companies exhibiting with sake tasting galore.
Here on a rooftop overlooking the research facility is where we said auf Wiedersehen to 
Before those treated seeds can be planted in a farmer’s field, 
“We test all different seeds in terms of germination,” he says. “The germination is very important to see if there is any damage in terms of germination on the roots or any delays.” 
Our final stop at the 
Like everything else in BASF product development, quite a bit of work goes into creating treated seeds. “We are involved from the early development stage, from the research phase,” he said.
Okay, so if Dr. Speakman was excited about fungi, Dr. Christoph Kunast is simply buggy about insects. 
This is a guy who really loves fungi. 
“The mycologists estimate there are about 1.6 million fungal species,” says Speakman. “To date we have identified about 85,000 of these. There are about 8,000 plant pathogenic fungi in the world.” And can you guess what plant is the most impacted by fungi? It is actually grass – some 160 fungi can create problems for turfgrass and golf courses.
Dr. Speakman also demonstrated BASF’s new Stargate method of applying test compounds to plants. “It enables us to reduce the amount of compound being sprayed,” Speakman said. It also runs by computer to reduce human exposure to unknown compounds. I shot a little video of that which is being edited and we should be able to post here before too long.