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Although I lived in Dallas-Ft. Worth for several years, there is always more to see. I spent the day touring around Ft. Worth as part of the IFAJ conference and visited the Rocky Top Therapy Center (www.rockytoptherapy.org) located in Keller, Texas, the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth and Superior Livestock Auction, located in the historic Stockyards.
Although the entire day was enjoyable, I was really fascinated with the Rocky Top Therapy Center which uses animals, and specifically equine therapy to help more than 250 emotionally, mentally and physically challenged individuals each week. They use more than 53 horses and 250 volunteers who donated more than 180,000 hours of their time to help these children last year.
We were given a special equine therapy demonstration by several amazing children who all began the program in wheelchairs and now each one of these kids can walk. You can see a video of the therapy here.
Also featured at the ranch is a playground featuring the largest treehouse in the country. For the first time ever, both children and adults have been able to experience the pleasure of sliding down a topsy-turvy slide.
It was a great experience and you can learn more about Rocky Top Therapy Center at www.rockytoptherapy.com. In case you’re interested in donating time or money, they have a fundraiser coming up in October and you can get more information on their website.
To see more photos from the ranch as well as rest of my tour, check out our IFAJ/AMS 2009 Photo Album.
The International Federation of Ag Journalists kicked off the 2009 Congress events with an all American rodeo and some sweet southern cooking at 
Inside the stadium you were greeted with the overwhelming aroma of livestock, all part of the experience, I guess. This was my first rodeo, as well as a first for most of the visitors to the conference and boy, was it a show! There was music, bull riding, calf roping, funny rodeo clowns, plenty to entertain us all. It was definitely a sight to see with something for everyone. 
The rain started at Burgundy Beef but were well informed on the all grass feeding of their cows and the complexity of the beef industry. We also sampled some of their meats and cheeses and had to brave the monsoon to make it back to our bus. The last stop on the tour was Beakley Farms, which is a family owned business that features cotton, wheat and sunflowers. We were unfortunately held on the bus for the majority of the time there but got off just long enough to peek at some of the equipment stored in the shed.
It was the Flinchbaugh-Stenholm show Sunday morning at the first combined session for the IFAJ Congress and the Ag Media Summit. A full house was entertained by the musings and mutterings of “The Great Debate” between former Texas congressman Charlie Stenholm and retired K-State ag economist Barry Flichbaugh.
The crowd had lots of questions for the two after their debate over ag and international trade policy, as did several reporters after the fact. It was interesting to hear the international journalists ask questions about climate change policy and animal rights activism. Our own Joanna Schroeder and Kansas Ag Network reporter Greg Akagi also interviewed them both. 
During an interview after his luncheon address, Drew DeBerry told me that he was not surprised with the reaction to some of his comments and the questions posed by the international journalists. “I’m impressed at the interest they have in our domestic policies here in the United States,” he said. “I’m encouraged that means there is an interest around the world in better understanding US domestic policies because we have to understand each others policies if we’re going to have fair trade.”
Mike reported on the further development of the 
With a free day before the real business of the 
Congress organizer Diane Johnson has been really busy today getting people to where they want to go, since this is her home turf, and she is doing a fabulous job! Many of the visitors, including those of us from the United States, can find a lot to do and see just on foot around the conference hotel. Downtown Ft. Worth is a very beautiful area with lots of local attractions like the Sid Richardson Museum featuring paintings and art of the Old West and plenty of wonderful restaurants. Diane says we have 700 people total for the IFAJ/AMS combined event, with 130 of them from other countries. 
It’s always nice to have a good working press room with internet access at any event where there are journalists at work and the 
As I sit here doing posts, I have been hearing many languages around me. That is why this is such a great event for agricultural journalists here in the United States to be able to interact with their colleagues in other countries. This is the first time in many years the Congress has been held in the United States, and the first time it has ever been held in conjunction with the Ag Media Summit, so it allows more of our IFAJ members to attend. 
The executive committee of the