The new President of the International Seed Federation is Tim Johnson, Illinois Foundation Seeds. I spoke with Tim about his induction to the position at the ISF World Seed Congress 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. He says it’s an honor to be selected by the general assembly of ISF for the two year commitment. He calls it the “global ASTA” …
Deadline For IFAJ-Yara Award
The deadline for the IFAJ-Yara Award for Sustainable Agriculture Reporting is coming up fast – July 1, 2012. Don’t know what it is? Here’s some information. The IFAJ-Yara Award for Sustainable Agriculture Reporting is open to articles, Internet productions or radio/TV broadcasts on the broad themes of hunger, feeding the world sustainably and meeting the challenge of providing nutrition to …
An Alltech View of China
His presentation was titled, “The Great Call of China.” Dr. Mark Lyons talked about what he has learned about the culture and opportunity represented by the China market. In fact, he’s learning the language right now and Alltech predicts that the country may represent 25% of their business in the future. At the 2010 Symposium we got a glimpse at …
Regulatory and Activist Lessons From Europe
Lessons Learned From Europe was the topic addressed by Mike Sheldon, Greenway Farms Limited, during the opening session of the 2012 Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit. Mike talked about regulatory burdens and activist influence. You’ll hear him say in my interview with him that what’s happening there is coming here to the USA. I asked Mike what he wanted to …
GROWMARK CEO Pleased with Pursuit of Maximum Yields
GROWMARK CEO Jeff Solberg is very pleased with response to the FS Green Plan Solutions program to help growers discover new methods that will help them attain maximum yields. I had a chance to chat with Jeff as he attended the Pursuit of Maximum Yields (POMY) grower event last week in Collinsville, Illinois. He told me that the program is …
Assistance Available To Attend 2012 IFAJ Congress
It’s not too early to look ahead to the 2012 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress which will take place in Sweden. It’s on my calendar. If you need some assistance going, one option is for AAEA members to apply for a professional development stipend. Another is for young agricultural communicators to apply for an IFAJ-Alltech Young Leader Award. AAEA …
European Network Of Agricultural Journalists Formed
It looks like you have to be a member to log in to the new website but the EU has a new ag journalist organization. The European network of Agricultural Journalists (ENAJ), a new organisation representing agricultural journalists from the EU was officially launched today in Brussels. The Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos was presented with the working charter for …
Irish Guild of Agricultural Journalists Commemorates 50 Years
The Irish Guild of Agricultural Journalists has just released a 50th Anniversary document (pdf) that includes historical information and photos. Here are a couple of samples: In 1961 we had a visit from John Hayhurst, President of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists, London. He was editor of a weekly called The Smallholder. He was exploring Ireland’s potential for membership. He …
Farming First For A Sustainable World
Putting Farming First is the theme of a “coalition of organisations that articulates, endorses and promotes practical and actionable programmes and activities to further sustainable agricultural development worldwide.” This effort has produced a video to promote this concept called ‘The Story of Agriculture and the Green Economy.” It “highlights the importance of sustainable agriculture in creating sustainable livelihoods, feeding a …
Agribusiness Soldiers in Afghanistan
The U.S. Army pointed me to this great story about our soldiers in Afghanistan doing agribusiness duty. The photo comes from Staff Sgt. James McDonnough. In it Sgt. 1st Class Randy Wright, a pest management specialist with the Illinois Army National Guard’s 1-14th Agribusiness Development Team, takes the reigns on a team of draft horses during a visit to an …