The 2011 IFAJ Congress has concluded but I will have a lot more to share over the coming days. It’s late in Niagra Falls, ON, Canada.
The GMO’s took to the stage tonight for our final entertainment after a concluding banquet with lots of awards. Photos are in the process of uploading which will finish my photo album from this year’s Congress. Feel free to view, share and use.
2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
The AgChat Foundation (ACF) and the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) have partnered up to help farmers and ranchers share their stories with the general public.
“The core vision of the AgChat Foundation is to empower farmers and ranchers to share their stories,” said Darin Grimm, Kansas farmer and AgChat Foundation president. “We are excited to partner with USFRA to build and expand those conversations”
The partnership is multi-faceted. USFRA recently sponsored the AgChat Foundation’s Agvocacy 2.0 Conference, which sought to teach farmers and ranchers about using social media platforms and other technology to share their stories with food consumers. USFRA has also committed to an additional sponsorship, which will further the ACF’s ability to have an impact on more farmers and ranchers from across the country.
Playing to their strengths, the AgChat Foundation will be a key partner in USFRA’s Food Dialogues event on September 22. The event, a simultaneous grouping of four live meetings around the country as well as online participation, will feature a series of different panels discussing different topics in key locations. The goal of Food Dialogues is to answer the questions that Americans are asking about their food. The AgChat Foundation will help engage the online agricultural community through a strategic social media campaign in order to build excitement in the weeks leading up to and during the event. To learn more about Food Dialogues, visit www.fooddialogues.com.
One of the many farmer leaders who stopped by the media tent at Farm Progress show was Steve Wellman, a soybean producer from Syracuse, Nebraska who is First Vice President of the American Soybean Association (ASA). I chatted with Steve about some of the issues on his mind these days.
At the top of the list is approval of biotech traits to help increase production to meet growing world demand. “When biotech traits were first introduced about 20 years ago, it took 18 months to get through the approval system here in the U.S. Now it takes four years,” Steve says. ASA and the National Corn Growers Association held a joint conference with other stakeholders the week after FPS to discuss actions the industry could take toward getting timely regulatory clearances for biotech traits and avoid trade disruptions.
Listen to or download my interview with Steve here. Steve Wellman at FPS 2011
2011 Farm Progress Show Photo Album
AgWired Coverage of the Farm Progress Show is sponsored by New Holland GROWMARK Trellis Growing SystemsThis afternoon the full IFAJ Congress group got together on the lawn in front of our hotel for a photo.
I’d like to thank our photographer, Martin Schwalbe of Guelph ON. He used my camera to take a photo for me! Now we have some free time until our closing banquet.
2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
Niagra Falls welcomed the IFAJ Congress starting late yesterday afternoon. Here’s one of my best shots of the falls from a walk I took this morning. I’m still drying out after walking through the spray that swirls up and wherever the wind is blowing.
This morning we had a program on sustainability and farm journalism. I’ve been to too many discussions on the subject and used most of that time to see the sights. I think I just added about 70 photos of the falls to the photo album.
In a little while we’re all getting together for a group photo in our IFAJ hockey shirts. Activities conclude with this evening’s banquet and entertainment. However, my coverage won’t be concluded. I’ll have a number of interviews and stories to share in the next week. Tomorrow will be a full day of travel home.
2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
All 2011 IFAJ Congress tour groups are now checked in to our hotel in Niagra Falls, Canada. You can see a quick pic of my hotel room view of the falls here.
This is a group of us during our second tour stop today at Jackson Triggs Vintners. We sampled sparkling, red, white and ice wine and left much happier than when we arrived. It was an awesome birthday party for Joann Alumbaugh, (pictured second from left in the second row). Fortunately she turned legal drinking age today and was able to sample some wines with the rest of us grown ups!
Tonight we are heading to the Oh Canada Eh? dinner show and we’ve got just enough time to get ready and update my photos from today.
2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
It was a full day of farm touring for the IFAJ Congress today. I’m on the Lake Huron Tour which includes our stopping point tonight on the lake. We got in too late to enjoy the view though. But with the temperatures dropping and the wind howling I am not missing it. We’ll be back on the agriblogging highway early in the morning, winding up in Niagra Falls. Here’s my tour doing a group photo when we stopped at Hensall District Cooperative. I’ve got several more video clips and interviews from today. Our stops included a farmers market and several dairies in addition to an apple packing facility and this cooperative.
2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-Bred
The first stop for the 2011 IFAJ Congress Lake Huron Tour group today was Martin’s Family Fruit Farm. Our host, Steve Martin, gave us a full tour of their apple packing and storage facility. The short video clip below shows the washing process where the bins unload into a wash tank and then the apples move through an automated process than includes some manual sorting and finally weighing and packing.
We got to take our pick of several varieties after we were done. I chose a Honeycrisp which was delicious. The farm grows many varieties including the MacIntosh which I believe someone said is 200 years old this year. Ontario is the top apple producing province in Canada.
2011 IFAJ Congress Photo Album
Coverage of the IFAJ Congress is sponsored by PIONEER Hi-BredWhat is not to like about finding CommonGround? National Corn Growers Association Communications Manager Cathryn Wojciki recently did a post on Corn Commentary about how farmers can start a conversation with a simple photo.
From Main Street to MTV, everyone is talking about food. Unfortunately, this conversation does not often include the people who grow it. CommonGround Conversations creates a space for America’s farm families, and the people who support them, to share the story. Here, we have a meeting ground that will let you discover the values and hard work that underlie our nation’s abundant, safe harvest. Help us share our story! By submitting photos of yourself, family and friends waving at the camera, join your voice with like-minded people to open a national dialogue saying, “Hi! I support farmers. Let’s talk about how we grow our food.”
Now’s your chance to join in on the CommonGround movement and let your voice be heard.
Right now, the movement is growing. Help us find the CommonGround between the people who grow food and those who buy it. Start today on CommonGround’s Facebook fan page. Here’s how to join the conversation:
