Plant disease experts at the American Phytopathological Society annual meeting are preparing to potentially do battle with a new strain of wheat stem rust. Washington State University plant pathologist Tim Murray says wheat stem rust has been in the United States since the early 1900s but this new strain could pose new problems. “The Ug99 strain is a new strain …
Corn Grower Conference to Focus on Land Use
If you are concerned about the indirect land use change (ILUC) issue, you should plan to attend the National Corn Growers Association’s Corn Ethanol Land Use Conference in St. Louis on August 25-26. Registrants can participate in a myriad of topical sessions including land use change, nitrous oxide, new technologies and their effect on greenhouse gas emissions, domestic and international …
Arenus Acquires Equilite
Holistic health for horses just got a little better. Horse and pet nutrition and health products company Arenus of St. Charles, MO recently acquired the intellectual property, technology and product lines of Equilite, Inc. According to a press release, Equilite provides many all-natural herbal health products that are safe for horses, horse owners and the environment. Ingredients are human grade …
IFAJ/AMS Leaves Mark on Texas
One of the coolest parts of the IFAJ/AMS Big Ol’ Western Welcome Party was pretty hot – branding boards with personal brands. Dozens of ag media types, both American and international, took the branding iron in hand and left their marks. Our buddy Harlen Persinger – photographer extraordinaire – really got into it and designed a nice brand for himself. …
The Great Debate
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by: and It was the Flinchbaugh-Stenholm show Sunday morning at the first combined session for the IFAJ Congress and the Ag Media Summit. A full house was entertained by the musings and mutterings of “The Great Debate” between former Texas congressman Charlie Stenholm and retired K-State ag economist Barry Flichbaugh. The crowd had …
Texas Ag Greets International Visitors
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by: and The Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture for Texas greeted international agriculture journalists meeting in Fort Worth and spoke his mind about some trade issues that were not necessarily in agreement with some of the countries represented. During an interview after his luncheon address, Drew DeBerry told me that he was not surprised …
A Few Words from the IFAJ President
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by: and The president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Mike Wilson of Farm Progress Companies opened the general session of the 2009 Congress in Fort Worth Saturday morning with a few words about the direction of the organization. Mike reported on the further development of the IFAJ website and plans for …
Lots of Options for International Visitors
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2009 is sponsored by: and With a free day before the real business of the 2009 IFAJ Congress gets going, many of our international visitors are checking out the sights to see around Fort Worth. Some of the “on-demand” local area tours include the National Cutting Horse Association Summer Spectacular, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame, The …
Busy Media Room at IFAJ
It’s always nice to have a good working press room with internet access at any event where there are journalists at work and the 2009 IFAJ Congress media room, sponsored by BASF, is already being utilized by reporters from all over the world here in Ft. Worth. There are a number of laptops around the room, as well as both …
IFAJ Executive Committee Meeting
The executive committee of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) began meeting this morning with a report from president Mike Wilson of Farm Progress Companies. Mike reported that the organization is working on increasing membership from different countries and that the website is becoming a more effective tool in getting information out about what IFAJ is and what it …