YouFarm International wants to make you and your farm a star! You’re already wearing many hats – why not become a movie director, too? You can show the world how you and your family live and work on your farm. Be creative – there are no rules about what or how you film true to this year’s motto of YouFarm: …
Pakistani Companies Tour US Cotton Belt
Representatives from Pakistani companies are touring the U.S. cotton belt. The tour is going on now through May 9. It’s put on by Cotton Council International (CCI), the National Cotton Council’s export promotions arm, and shows the key textile executives from 11 Pakistani companies the ins and outs of American cotton production, processing and marketing. At this point in the …
Mixed Signals on Biotech from EU
Mixed signals regarding biotech crops coming from the European Union last week have left representatives of the agriculture community shaking their heads. First the EU announced it would allow member nations to ban the import of food and feed containing biotech ingredients, and then a few days later announced the approval of 17 biotech traits for import. “I’m just characterizing …
New Award for Agricultural Reporting
The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in conjunction with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization is introducing a new annual award for excellence in global food security reporting. This is part of the cooperation agreement between the two organizations. The IFAJ-FAO Award for Excellence in Global Food Security Reporting will be exclusively for IFAJ members. One entry from each national …
FAO & Partners Launch Pastoralist Knowledge Hub
Do you know what a pastoralist is? Here’s one definition: a grazier or land-holder raising sheep, cattle, etc, on a large scale. Kind of sounds like a rancher to me. Why do I bring it up? Because the FAO and partners announced an online Pastoralist Knowledge Hub today. Their hope is that this will provide a platform for these folks …
State Farmers Union Presidents Meet Pope
Five Farmers Union state presidents and National Farmers Union’s (NFU) chief counsel capped off a series of meetings with officials at the Vatican by meeting Pope Francis himself on Wednesday. The presidents of state Farmers Unions in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin have been engaging in discussions about family farmers, food security and environmental stewardship. “In discussions …
AWARD Fellowships go to 70 African Women Ag Scientists
Olivia Narciso Pedro, a lecturer and researcher at the Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique is one of 70 outstanding African women agricultural scientists to have been awarded a 2015 fellowship from African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD). The winners have been publicly announced this week in Nairobi, Kenya, where they have convened for an orientation workshop. “Agricultural …
UA Taking Land-Grant Mission South of the Border
Last week, nearly 60 representatives from 19 Mexican universities made a visit to the Tucson Village Farm, located on the University of Arizona’s Campus Agricultural Center. The UA is leading the innovative initiative in partnership with New Mexico State University. The project is called the Red De Extensión e Innovación Nacional Universitaria, also known as Project REINU, and translates to …
Farm Safety Program Addresses Universal Challenges
Progressive Agriculture Safety Day®, the largest rural safety and health education program for children in North America, has officially been licensed in Brazil. The program is part of the Progressive Agriculture Foundation® (PAF), and the expansion is made possible through support from Agrium, a leading global agricultural solutions company and long-time sponsor and supporter of the program. Brazil will become …
The Growth of Eco Agro Resources
As we’ve seen in two big announcements this week alone, Eco Agro Resources, which was founded in 2013, is on a fast-paced growth curve. I talked with Andrew Semple, President/CEO, about how his company is having so much success. By the way, Eco Agro Resources’ home office is located in my hometown of Sarasota, FL, although they already have offices …