The Regional Agricultural Attache for the United States in Morocco is Hassan Ahmed. I first met Hassan when he was posted to Cairo and I was traveling on a USDA FAS trip that included stops in Cairo and Alexandria. I haven’t seen him since then until today but we still remember the “camel story” among others. Some of you have …
Morocco’s Office of Cereals
The Moroccan government’s “Office of Cereals” is led by Mr. Abdelali Aziz, General Director (pictured center). He spoke to the U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission this morning about the status of corn imports into Morocco and touched on quantity, quality and standards. He also commented on the impact of the USGC’s programs on the poultry and beef sectors. He says, …
On The Road In Morocco
While we get back on the road in Morocco today to the capital city of Rabat and visits with the Ministry of Agriculture I thought you might like to see what the country looked like from the road. Here’s a short video clip in which you can hear U.S. Grains Council Consultant Mustapha El Youssoufi, doing the play by play. …
International News About Soybeans
John Baize, Baize & Associates is a regular columnist for the United Soybean Board’s Expert Advice. His company specializes in international agricultural trading and policy consulting on oilseeds and soybeans and including biotechnology policy, trade policy, agriculture policy and market development activities. In his most recent column you’ll find information about China. A lot has been said about the impact …
Moroccan Shepherds
Besides the rocks I think I saw more shepherds today than almost anything else as we drove around Morocco. The fields and hills are covered with them. There were children watching a flock, women, men, groups of people. You name it. Sheep are pretty much everywhere. When we drove into Casablanca this afternoon, a town of over 4 million, I …
Getting Ready For A Corn Mission
The Grain Board will be one of the locations you can follow the upcoming U.S. Grains Council Corn Mission. What’s that? It’s going to be me traveling along with growers and organizational representatives from Virginia, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Missouri to Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. We’ll be seeing the USGC in action and I’m along to help document …
World Food Prize Winner
Gebisa Ejeta, Purdue University Distinguished Professor of Agronomy plant breeder and geneticist, will receive the World Food Prize for his work in developing sorghum varieties resistant to drought and Striga, a parasitic weed common on the African continent. Because of Ejeta’s efforts, sorghum yields are significantly higher in many African nations. The World Food Prize, considered the Nobel Prize of …
Truth About Trade and Technology Honors Irish Farmer
Farmers from around the globe gathered in Des Moines this week to participate in the 2009 Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable, which is held in conjunction with the World Food Prize and hosted by Truth About Trade and Technology. The group honored one of their own today with the 2009 Kleckner Trade & Technology Advancement Award which recognizes a farmer for “exemplary …
International Breakout Dairy Discussions
After the morning sessions and lunch the Global Dairy 500 participants sit at discussion tables. These breakout sessions are very lively and interactive and on many different topics. I followed along with one led by Brent Lawrence, Alltech. Brent handles the southeast territory of Florida and Georgia. At his table were dairy farmers from the USA, Germany, Korea and the …
Common Problems For Dairy Farmers Globally
The Global Dairy 500 Conference is a truly international one. There are farmers here from all over the world which requires a lot of translators who are working very hard in their booths at the back of the conference presentation rooms. One of the groups I ran into early is from Germany. They were all enjoying an early sample of …