Greeting the IFAJ Congress at our first dinner in Portoroz was the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Iztok Jarc. He had a challenge because just prior to our dinner the weather changed completely and we had a drenching lightning storm. It forced the restaurant to make some major adjustments to the settings but finally we got everyone under cover and seated.

I spoke with the Minister after his comments. He pointed out that the weather was indicative of what it’s been like all year. He says they’ve been experiencing what he believes is related to climate change and that is severe storms that are very unusual. During the spring and summer he says they’ve had high winds and large hail storms that have in places just sheared trees in half.

The main agricultural commodities are livestock and he says milk is at the top and one they export. He says that although their ag industry is highly developed in terms of quality and technology, they are still behind in marketing and promotion since coming out of the former Yugoslavia. I asked him if he had a message for other farmers and he said, “Agriculture has proved to be a very important sector in general. Ag policy should be an important part of every government in the world.”

You can listen to my interview with Minister Jarc here: ifaj-08-jarc.mp3

IFAJ Congress 2008 Photo Album

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