Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack had a busy week at COP26 last week, participating in numerous events to underscore the administration’s commitment to climate action. Vilsack held a media call Friday afternoon from COP26 in Glasgow, UK. He discussed COP26 events, the recently-announced partnership with the EU and the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate. Taking questions from reporters, Vilsack also …
2021 World Press Freedom Day Statement from IFAJ
The beginning of a statement on the 2021 World Press Freedom Day, issued by the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Press Freedom Committee, starts with the following: Yes, we should be enthusiastic about celebrating the International Press Freedom Day on May the third. Unfortunately, there is a risk that the toast we raise this year is a bitter one, …
Celebrating Second Annual World Cotton Day
Today, October 7, is the second annual celebration of World Cotton Day to pay tribute to what is often called the “most important natural fiber in the world.” The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) co-established the global day last year with four other organizations – the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Conference on Trade and …
World Press Freedom Day
May 3rd was World Press Freedom Day. This year’s theme is Journalism Without Fear or Favour. Here in the U.S.A. most people take the press for granted. Well, generally. Lately with state of political discourse being so divided it is unfortunate that the press have come under increasing fire for their reporting, which in my mind has become less about …
Secretary Perdue Press Call from Rome
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue has been traveling Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy this week to engage with his counterparts on important issues facing agriculture at home and abroad. The Secretary, along with Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Ted McKinney has been participating in events with government officials and agricultural leaders. As President Trump was preparing to …
USDA Supporting International Year of Plant Health
USDA is kicking off efforts to create awareness in the U.S. for this International Year of Plant Health. The international campaign was declared by the U.N. at the end of 2019. A conference on plant health is planned for later this year with details to come. To bring worldwide attention to this challenge, the U.N. has declared 2020 as the …
IFAJ Congress 2020 Website Live
The website for the 2020 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress, is now live. The host country is Denmark. Registration will open at the end of January. The theme is: “Farming today for the society of tomorrow.” The Congress dates are 24 June – 28 Jun, 2020 with the location being Vingsted, Vingsted Skovvej. The issue that is becoming increasingly …
2019 World Food Day
Welcome to World Food Day 2019. This isn’t just a Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations event but they put a lot of effort into it. Let’s take for example their suggestions for farmers and agribusinesses to make diets healthier, available and affordable. The women and men who work in agriculture play a vital role in providing nutritious, …
Happy World Egg Day!
More than 40 countries around the world are celebrating the most incredible source of “Protein for Life” today on World Egg Day. One large egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals and six grams of high-quality protein for just about $0.17 each. But eggs are are more than a highly affordable protein source, they also have a low environmental impact, …
President Says USMCA is Victory for Farmers
Out with NAFTA and in with USMCA, the initials for the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement. “This new deal is an especially great victory for our farmers,” said President Donald Trump as he announced the agreement this morning. “The deal includes a substantial increase in our farmers’ opportunities to export American wheat, poultry, eggs and dairy – including milk, butter, cheese, yogurt …