Before dinner opening day we heard from Elisabeth Zolch-Balmer, Minister of the Department of Economic Affairs and a member of the government of the Canton of Berne. Elisabeth talked about how the government is working to save and restore small Swiss farms through the use of payments. She said they’ve had a real decline in the number of these small farms but that it has stabilized. The farms are actually important to more than just the agricultural industry. They’re very important to tourism as well.

I interviewed Elisabeth while the alpine horns were playing in the background. You can listen to the interview here:

AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.