Panel discussions at the World Food Prize Norman Borlaug Symposium in Des Moines are called “conversations” and one on Wednesday focused on the “Promises and Challenges of Next-Generation Science and Technology.” Among the presenters was Brazil’s former minister of agriculture Roberto Rodrigues, co-chair of the International Biofuels Commission who made a very compelling case that both food and fuel production …
Blog Action Day and World Food Prize
Today has been “Blog Action Day” and the theme this year is poverty. Coincidentally, that is the basic theme here in Des Moines at the World Food Prize Norman Borlaug Symposium – since the key focus is on feeding the hungry. So, I actually decided to participate in the event this year – both on AgWired and Domestic Fuel, since …
World Food Dialogue for Solutions
Even though the word “crisis” is being used liberally here at the World Food Prize Norman Borlaug Symposium, there is a great deal of focus on solutions to feeding a growing global population. The “Global Agricultural Crisis of the 21st Century” was the topic of the keynote speaker for the symposium kickoff, Sir Gordon Conway, who is chief scientific adviser …
CFWF Farm Tour
Here’s some more information courtesy of Dan Danford, AdFarm, from the Canadian Farm Writer’s Federation conference. These are some pictures from Friday’s farm tour at the Canadian Farm Writer’s Federation Conference. Our first stop was Fanny Bay Oysters. They grow, process, market and distribute their own farmed shellfish. It was very interesting to learn how they actually seed the bay …
AdFarm at CFCW
Thanks to Dan Danford, AdFarm, I’ve got more pictures from the Canadian Farm Writer’s Federation conference. I think this photo is the AdFarm folks who attended the CFCW Conference. Last night CFWF 2008 wrapped up with closing ceremonies and their annual awards banquet. It was very interesting to see the similarities and differences between the CFWF Conference and Ag Media …
Rainy Weather at CFWF Conference
Seeing this picture sent in by Dan Danford, AdFarm, makes me wish I was able to attend the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation meeting. This picture was actually taken prior to the CFWF meeting. Dan was kind though to send me a couple of pictures and let me know what’s going on with our brethren in the great white north. The …
Soldier Farmers
Here’s something you won’t see on the evening tv news. Soldier farmers helping rebuild the ag economy in Afghanistan. We’ve already seen this type of work being done in Iraq thanks to Paul McKellips. It looks like soldiers from several states are doing something similar to this in Afghanistan. Despite recent progress, Afghanistan remains a poor country. Its agriculture industry, …
MCOOL will take some time to sort out
Harry Siemens / Farmscape – North American pork producers, processors, and retailers continue to prepare for the introduction of the mandatory country of origin labeling which took affect officially on September 30, 2008. Saskatchewan Pork Development Board policy analyst Mark Ferguson believes U.S. processors and retailers will determine the impact of the new labelling requirements on Canadian pork producers. “Although …
Aquafinca Farms Fish in Honduras
I just received this story from Laura who visited Honduras recently and is back there now. Her trip was made possible by the Honduras Foundation for Investment and Export Development. Here’s a novel idea when running a business that manages more than a thousand employees: “We try to do basically everything to make them feel they are like partners not …