We have now gone from Blog Action Day to World Food Day 2012. The FAO says that agricultural cooperatives are the “key to feeding the world.” They are the focus of this World Food Day. The official World Food Day theme, announced each spring by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), gives focus to World Food …
Farm Foundation Forum to Look at Global Ag Policies
Our friends at Farm Foundation hold another free forum … this time on global agricultural policies on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012. The forum, entitled Perspectives on Global Agricultural Policies, will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. EDT at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, Washington D.C. and will feature the official release of the Organization for Economic …
Soybean Association Grows a Nation in Afghanistan
We hear a lot about the war in Afghanistan but often times don’t hear as much about the peace-building efforts there. From my own experience, I can tell you that our efforts to build that nation will most likely have as big, if not bigger, impact as any military strike. Our friends at the American Soybean Association (ASA) must be …
One Stop Shopping in Canada
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show is underway in Woodstock, Ontario. I had the opportunity to attend it last year in conjunction with the 2011 IFAJ Congress. It’s a great show and a great place to shop, especially if you’re a dairy farmer! When you are in the mood to shop, the most efficient and effective method is to have all the …
Farm Foundation Workshop to Focus on Free Trade
Free trade agreements between the United States and South Korea, Colombia and Panama could mean big growth for U.S. animal products. To help you better understand implications of these agreements, our friends at Farm Foundation are hosting a two-day workshop, Sept. 27-28, 2012, entitled “Emerging Issues in Global Animal Product Trade: Assessing the Effects of Free Trade Agreements on Global …
Learning about DeLaval
How much do you know about DeLaval? Want to learn more? Then sit in on this press interview with President/CEO, Joakim Rosengren. For you ag journalists out there, this is another example of they type of opportunity that comes from participating in an annual IFAJ Congress. We conducted this interview during this year’s Congress while visiting the DeLaval Hamra Farm. …
IFAJ Master Class
Want more reasons to support IFAJ? How about the annual Master Class held prior to the IFAJ Congress? The Master Class started this year with a ‘Getting Familiar Evening’ followed by peer-to-peer workshops on Monday and Tuesday. The agricultural journalists represent nine countries. They are: Burkina Faso: Inoussa Maiga Burundi: Jean de Dieu (John) Ininahazwe Congo: Roger Vutsoro Gambia: Sang …
IFAJ Boot Camp for Young Leaders
Here’s a reason why I support the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. It is because of programs like the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism awards. These winners attend a pre-Congress Boot Camp. The winners participate in a two-day boot camp to develop their professional skills in agricultural journalism and get a broader global perspective in agricultural communication. The first …
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show
Woodstock, ON is known as the Dairy Capital of Canada but is also home of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show – the nation’s largest agricultural trade show. As Cindy and I gear up for a big one here in the USA it’s time to look ahead to the big show in Canada! From September 11 to 13, thousands of farmers flock …
Wine Making in Sweden
Wine making in Sweden? You betcha. During the 2012 IFAJ Congress some of us toured Blaxsta Vineyard. We also sampled a merlot while we were there. The grapes for this particular wine came from Canadian vineyards of French stock. Blaxsta Vineyard is located near Stockholm and is about as far north as you can grow grapes to make some good …