Berne Minister of Economic Affairs

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ-8Before dinner opening day we heard from Elisabeth Zolch-Balmer, Minister of the Department of Economic Affairs and a member of the government of the Canton of Berne. Elisabeth talked about how the government is working to save and restore small Swiss farms through the use of payments. She said they’ve had a real decline in the number of these small farms but that it has stabilized. The farms are actually important to more than just the agricultural industry. They’re very important to tourism as well.

Audio, IFAJ

Vice Mayor Of Thun

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ-2Next on our program opening night was Ursula Haller, vice mayor of Thun. She described what happened during the recent flooding here and how they’re dealing with it. I interviewed Ursula after she spoke.

Audio, IFAJ

Let’s Get This Ethanol Thing Right

Chuck Zimmerman

CornTalk PodcastIn this week’s CornTalk, National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman discusses last week’s Ethanol Energy Balance forum at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The forum was organized to settle the debate over the net energy balance provided by ethanol. Much of that debate was created by a recent re-release of a questionable research study that suggests that that support for this form of energy is not worth it.

Ag Groups, Audio, Corn, Ethanol, Podcasts