The Urban Cowboy himself is the newly elected President of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. He’s Owen Roberts, Director, Research Communications at University of Guelph. Owen (l) is seen being congratulated by past IFAJ President Marcus Rediger after the election during the IFAJ Congress in Bonn, Germany. During the closing banquet festivities of the Congress Owen and I talked …
#IFAJ2016 Awards Excellence
The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists honored the best in print, broadcast, photography, and global food reporting at the 60th annual IFAJ Congress this week in Germany. Among the awards presented at the Congress was a new one – the IFAJ-FAO Prize for Excellence in Global Food Security Reporting which went to Laura Rance of Canada. Rance’s article, “Africa’s hunger …
#IFAJ2016 Elects New Leadership
Congratulations to our good friend Owen Roberts who is the first Canadian to serve as president of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ). Roberts takes over for Markus Rediger of Switzerland who stepped down after completing four very successful years at the helm of IFAJ. Roberts is joined by Lena Johansson from Sweden who replaces him as Vice president, …
Bayer Spotlights Sustainability at #IFAJ2016
While the rest of the world is talking about Bayer’s bid to buy Monsanto, many representatives of the company are busy in Germany helping international journalists learn more about them and their sustainability efforts. Dr. Helmut Schramm, Managing Director for Bayer CropScience Deutschland, was on a panel talking about sustainability at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress in …
Outgoing IFAJ President Marcus Rediger
Today we will have an election of new officers for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. Marcus Rediger, LID.CH, has been serving as President for the last four years. Prior to that he served for eight years in other positions including Vice President. A lot of things have taken place in the development of IFAJ. We talked about that in …
Red Hot Marys at #IFAJ2016
Sometimes you get a pleasant surprise during an IFAJ Congress dinner. That happened during the welcome dinner at this year’s event. Apparently Karneval is a big deal in Germany: “Karneval” is German MARDI GRAS! Right on the heels of Oktoberfest time, the German Mardi Gras season begins on November 11th and ends with Ash Wednesday, usually in February or March. …
The #IFAJ2016 Learns About Rhineland Farming
The keynote speaker for the welcoming banquet of this year’s IFAJ Congress was Bernhard Conzen, President of the Rhineland Agricultural Association, Chairman of the Board, Rheinischer Landwirtschafts-Verlag GmbH. Sugar beets are a very important and historical crop in this area and Bernhard talks about it in his remarks which includes a very complete description of the region. I didn’t know …
An #IFAJ2016 Welcome
The 2016 IFAJ Congress officially kicked off with the annual welcome dinner. Greeting us was Gerd Sonnleitner, Honorary President, German Farmers Association UN Goodwill Ambassador, 2014 International Year of Family Farming. Gerd told us that we would getting some great insight into German agriculture. For the welcome dinner he suggested having some great discussion rather than a focus on politics …
Sustainable Global Ag Solutions Panel at #IFAJ2016
Prior to the start of this year’s International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress a panel discussion was held for members of the Master Class and Young Leaders as well as any other member attendees. Taking place at ZEF, Center for Development Research, University of Bonn, the panel subject was “Sustainable Solutions for Global Agriculture.” The Moderator is Joachim von Braun …
The #IFAJ2016 is Ready to Start
Hello from Bonn, Germany and the 2016 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress. I came in early to visit with the Master Class and Young Leaders. You can see photos of them in the photo album below. Tomorrow is the main arrival day for attendees. We’ll have a program during the day and welcome dinner in the evening. I want …