The 2011 IFAJ Congress gets into full swing today. There are some business meetings for the organization as well as an afternoon session called Canada Agriculture 101. I visited with Co-Chair Owen Roberts, faculty instructor at the University of Guelph. We were on the bus last night on our way to Mohawk Racetrack. In the program you can hear Owen …
Majority Favor Broadband Over GPS
Our latest ZimmPoll asked the question, “Which is more important to rural America: GPS Service or Broadband Internet?” A majority of 66% said Broadband Internet with 34% choosing GPS Service. So perhaps most of you place more importance on being able to use the internet for whatever reason than having the ability to use your GPS device, which would include …
Mohawk Racing IFAJ Style
Tonight the IFAJ attendees went horse racing at Mohawk Racetrack. We had some great Standardbred action for about seven races before departing back to the hotels. Here’s most of our group out on the track after the 6th race presenting an IFAJ Congress horse blanket to the winner. Now that’s cool. I’ve updated the photo album from this afternoon and …
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show Kicks Off
This morning Mike Wilson, President, International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) and editor, Farm Futures, kicked off the 2011 Canada Outdoor Farm Show. I’ve got video coming and will add as soon as it’s ready. We had a ribbon cutting of a different kind. Mike cut the ribbon on a batch of balloons which then floated over the show. Mike …
Canada Outdoor Farm Show
Welcome to the Canada Outdoor Farm Show. This is where I’ll be today with other IFAJ members before the 2011 IFAJ Congress officially kicks off tomorrow evening. I’m assuming I’ll be away from internet access all day but I’ll be taking photos and have stories to share after I get back. With helicopters landing and equipment arriving and animals getting …
IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp Graduation
The IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp is over for 2011. Here are the combined groups before we went to dinner together tonight in downtown Guelph. From what I’ve heard the participants were very happy with the program and feel like they got a lot out of the experience. I know I have and will alway remember it. There are …
AgroBlogger Adrian Krebs
He is the AgroBlogger. He’s Adrian Krebs. Adrian is the president of the Swiss Agricultural Journalists Guild and he was my partner for a presentation to the IFAJ Master Class and Boot Camp yesterday. I thought I’d share a conversation with him about why he’s blogging even though he is currently not working as an agricultural journalist. However, he still …
Bedford Buildings For A Lifetime
Got a building need and want it to last a lifetime? Bedford Reinforced Plastics may have the answer. Shannon says the company manufactures all sorts of structural shapes like this building for their shared exhibit with Trellis Growing Systems. The focus at the Farm Progress Show was the ag market of course. He says the primary problem in the market …
IFAJ Master Class & Boot Camp Sessions
This morning the IFAJ 2011 Master Class is in session while Boot Camp meets separately. Yesterday both groups were together. Here’s a little information about the Master Class: Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, is supporting a pilot project called the IFAJ-Pioneer HiBred Master Class. This program will bring a group of journalists from developing countries to a two-day journalism and …
Corn is Sweet on Strom’s Farm
Getting $7/dozen for sweet corn in Canada is a pretty sweet deal for Channing Strom, owner along with his wife Amy, of Strom’s Farm. Especially if you sell an average of 10-12 thousand dozen. I caught a picture of Channing, who is outstanding in his field, during our visit to the farm today. He drove a wagon load of IFAJ …