Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week’s program we’re going to talk about Young Agrarians. During the 2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference you met Sara Dent from a presentation she did at our opening reception. Now meet Sara in a more personal way via a conversation we had at the close of the CFWF conference. My focus …
Big and Small Farms Working Together
She’s a mother running on empty. She’s Leah Beyer. Let the Beyer Beware. That all becomes clear when you click on through to the other side. Leah was a panelist at the Boston Food Dialogues and the first one I interviewed. She’s a farm mom who grows corn and soybean with her husband in Indiana. They are “retired” dairy farmers. …
Farm Size Depends on Many Factors
The Boston Food Dialogues are underway here at The Station. Getting us started with opening remarks was Dr. A. Richard Bonanno, farmer and President of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation. I visited with him before we got started and asked him about his thoughts on the the topic here today of farm size and does it matter. He says “Everyone …
Farm Size: Does it Really Matter
It’s Food Dialogues day in Boston. The city seems to be pretty happy about some baseball game last night. Wonder what that was all about (C’mon Cards!). Back to food though. The moderator for today’s live event is Bloomberg News’ Alan Bjerga and our topic is “Farm Size: Does It Really Matter.” The event will take place from 1:00 p.m. …
What You’re Not Being Told About Food Production
Today the Animal Agriculture Alliance hosted a teleconference with various third-party experts to discuss industry improvements presented in the report “Advances in Animal Agriculture; What the Center for a Livable Future, Pew Commission and Others Aren’t Telling You About Food Production.” (pdf) Third-party experts on the call included: Dr. Richard Raymond, former Under Secretary, Food Safety Inspection Service, United States …
Let’s Have a Boston Food Dialogues
Let’s have a food dialogues and let’s have it in Boston. That’s my next stop. This Thursday you can watch the live stream of the USFRA Food Dialogues on the web and follow along via Twitter with the hashtag #FoodD and of course, here on AgWired. Increasingly, consumers are hearing they should be concerned about the size of farms, and …
Canadian Cranberry Time
That cranberry was this big! At least that’s what it looks like Mike Wallis, BC Cranberry Growers Association Mgr., is saying during a presentation at Shergill Cranberry Farm, the second stop for the “farm bikers” tour group during the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference. Also on hand was farm manager Bob Deroche. They talked to us about the farm and …
Meatless Monday Campaign Flops
This is no surprise to me. The Meatless Monday campaign doesn’t have the participation the organizers would like you to think they have. I have thought for some time that reports and effects of animal activists and their trendy sounding ideas are way over estimated. Thanks to the Animal Agriculture Alliance for doing this research! After weeks of investigation, the …
Indian Farmer to Receive TATT Award
An Indian rice, cotton and sugarcane farmer with a passion for technology is the 2013 recipient of the Kleckner Trade & Technology Advancement Award. “We, as farmers, besides earning for our families, have a social obligation to feed our population with enough food and eradicate hunger.” says Ravichandran Vanchinathan of Tamil Nadu, India, who took part in the 2010 Truth …
Join Global Farmer Roundtable Conversation
Even if you are unable to attend the Global Farmer Roundtable discussions next week in Des Moines, you can still participate. The Truth About Trade and Technology (TATT) event includes 20 farmers from various backgrounds and cultures who are invited to gather and discuss agricultural trade and technology access issues, and then continue to be part of a global network …