Registration is now open for the IFAJ 2016 Congress which will take place in Bonn, Germany. There are pre and post tours in addition to the main Congress. Find the program and registration information on the Congress website.

If you have never attended an IFAJ Congress then you really should consider it. Cindy and I have attended many of these fantastic events and now have friends and contacts all over the world. The IFAJ Congress is very different than our own “local” ag journalist meetings. The primary focus of the IFAJ Congress is on the culture and agriculture of the host country. This includes plenty of time on farms and plenty of time to talk with farmers and policy makers. Every country we’ve been to has welcomed us with open arms and some of the best food and beverage you can find. You come away more knowledgeable about this global agricultural business while creating good programming and editorial content when you return. One of the best parts for me is the mix of agricultural journalists of all types, print, web, tv, radio. IFAJ doesn’t make distinctions.

Another element of the Congress for me is seeing and working with young ag journalists from a variety of countries. They have some opportunities to attend with financial help and have a program of their own. There is some great talent out there if you want to look outside the border!

This year the host organization is the Association of German Agricultural Journalists (VDAJ). It was established in 1951 to promote agricultural journalism on the principles of freedom of the press and journalistic responsibility. It is a voluntary association with some 700 journalists, publicists and PR professionals who work in agriculture, forestry, food industry, horticulture and related fields. The Federal Association is made up of seven country groups. The office of the VDAJ is located in Friedrichsdorf.