With a theme of “The Power of Black Only Better” I’ll be attending the first ever American Hereford Association Media Day starting with a get together this evening in Kansas City.
We’ve got a news conference tomorrow morning early and presentations with AHA representatives during the day. I’ll be bringing it all to you as it happens.
Of course we will also be sampling some American Hereford beef. I can’t wait.
In this week’s ZimmCast you get to hear from Masaru Yamada, the main coordinator of the IFAJ Congress that just concluded and a number of the American delegates. Masaru is happy with how the event went and I don’t think he’s ready to do it again anytime soon. I can only imagine what it was like to conduct one of these for the first time.
Also included in this week’s program are short interviews with Greg Lamp, Kurt Lawton, Harlan Persinger, Joann Alumbaugh, Diane Johnson, Paul Queck, Den Gardner, Denny McClintic, Billy Frey and Marcia Taylor. I think everyone was surprised by the culture and how many small farms there are in the country as well as some of the problems which include a very aged farmer population.
The program concludes this week with music from the Podsafe Music Network. This week’s song is “Cost Cut Japan” by a group called Reggae Far East.
You can download and listen to the ZimmCast here: 
ZimmCast 138 (24 min MP3)
Or listen to this week’s ZimmCast right now:
zimmcast138-9-24-07.mp3The ZimmCast is the official weekly podcast of AgWired which you can subscribe to using the link in our sidebar. You can also subscribe in iTunes
IFAJ Congress 2007 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2007 is sponsored by: 
It looks like I’ll be able to attend the third annual Podcast & New Media Expo. I’m finding it hard to believe we’ve been doing this new media thing in agribusiness for over 3 years now. Starting Friday, I’ll be getting my new media fix with educational sessions and a trade show.
I’ll be attending the conference with longtime friend and former business partner (now client), Gary Cooper, Southeast AgNet. You can be certain that there will be some posts from the event here on AgWired.
At least for a few hours. Once upon a time gunslingers notched their pistol for fights they’d won. Agribloggers just add another lanyard/name badge to the stack.
These are actually just from the last year or so since I start it over once the trophy I’ve got it hanging from falls off the book shelf. Now it’s got a 2007 IFAJ Congress one on top that also has an Alltech pin in it.
I think it took Cindy and me about 27 hours to get back from Japan. Nothing like leaving Sendai on a Sunday. I hope everyone made it home safely regardless of which country you are from.
You can look for some good stuff to come here on AgWired this week. Tomorrow I’ll be on the road again. I’ll be adding a couple more to the stack. See you then.
IFAJ Congress 2007 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2007 is sponsored by:
Here’s a fine looking group of Americans don’t you think?
We numbered 17 of the total in attendance. Maybe next year some more U. S. ag journalists will attend the IFAJ Congress? I interviewed the chairman, Franz Fischler, former Ag Commissioner for the EU and will be posting that later. He provides an overview of what we can expect and it sounds like it’s going to be a great event just like here in Japan.
Today we’ve got to take a cab to a train, train to Tokyo, pick up our bags from a hotel at the Tokyo train station and take a bus from there to the airport.
Since it will be a while before I’m back online I want to thank Masaru Yamada and all the Japanese delegation that worked so hard to put on this Congress and host people from so many countries. We learned a lot. I also interviewed most of our group here and will be posting their comments in my ZimmCast which should be up tomorrow.
IFAJ Congress 2007 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2007 is sponsored by:
The IFAJ Congress is over and we’re about to head on out for the long trek home. Here’s the ceremonial passing of the IFAJ flag from the Japanese to the Austrians.
Our events yesterday were held in different locations without me being able to get online again. So, I’ll be working up some posts with interviews and some video clips on the way home to post later.
In the meantime there’s about 450 photos in the photo album you can enjoy.
IFAJ Congress 2007 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2007 is sponsored by:
Today we had a free morning to shop or just plain relax here in Sendai. Our IFAJ Congress is coming to a close with tonight’s final reception. I’ll have some more posting to do which might have to wait until I’m home. Tomorrow is a travel day. The photo album is up to date though.
This afternoon we were bussed to the Sendai City Welfare Plaza for the International Symposium, “Japan’s Food and Agriculture From a Global Perspective.” Cindy was a participant in the first panel discussion. She’s seated 2nd from the right. She got to ask a question about biofuels which was answered mostly by Kazunuki Ahizumi, Professor, Miyagi University. He was sort of the featured 1st speaker on the program.
I’ll have more on the day’s activities later. For now though I’ve got to get moving to the final reception.
IFAJ Congress 2007 Photo Album
AgWired coverage of IFAJ 2007 is sponsored by:
Inventive ag producers have come up with yet another way to use corn in an eco-friendly way. Dupont and Tate & Lyle are now offering corn-based deodorants.
The DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products joint venture today announced that it is providing its innovative Zemea(TM) renewably sourced propanediol (Bio-PDO(TM)) product to Terra Naturals Inc., a personal care company, that has developed a line of natural deodorants that are corn-based, aluminum- and petroleum-free. Under the branded GREEN line of products, the deodorants are distributed through United Natural Foods in the United States and Purity Life in Canada and also are available at the Terra Naturals website, www.terranaturals.com.
Zemea(TM) renewably sourced propanediol is a 100 percent renewably sourced ingredient made from corn sugar. The Terra Naturals GREEN line includes deodorant sticks, sprays and roll-ons for men, women, teens and sport uses. These products offer excellent odor elimination, excellent texture and a non- sticky residue. The GREEN line products are free of petroleum-based chemicals, free of synthetic parabens and aluminum and use only plant derived ingredients.
“Zemea(TM) propanediol offers a luxurious and non-sticky texture to deodorants,” Terra Naturals co-founder Svetlana Ratnikova said. “It replaces propylene glycol in petroleum-based deodorants and vegetable glycerin in existing natural deodorants. Vegetable glycerin can be very sticky and reduces overall product performance, and propylene glycol is derived from natural gas, a product that energy-conscious consumers are trying to reduce their dependence on.”
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The United Nations has recognized Dow AgroSciences‘ latest breakthroughs in technology with an innovation award. Dow AgroSciences is the latest recipient of the Montreal Protocol Innovators Award for its work in developing alternatives to chemicals that harm the ozone.
Dow AgroSciences LLC, a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW), has been named a winner of the United Nation’s Montreal Protocol Innovators Award at the annual Meeting of the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement designed to protect the earth’s ozone layer. The award honors the company’s innovation, investment and commitment to protect the environment through its efforts to develop alternatives to methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance being phased out under the Protocol. At this meeting, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Protocol, Dow AgroSciences was also named a winner of the United States’ Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “Best of the Best” Ozone Protection Award which honors an elite group of companies, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated long-term excellence in efforts to protect the stratospheric ozone layer.
Both awards honor the company’s long-standing commitment to providing critical alternatives to methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance used for pre-plant, post-harvest and structural fumigation uses. Dow AgroSciences products containing the active ingredients 1,3-dichloropropene and sulfuryl fluoride have been widely adopted on a global scale to coincide with the scheduled phase-out of methyl bromide.
“I am delighted that Indianapolis, Indiana-based Dow AgroSciences has been recognized for their continued leadership in developing technical and economically feasible alternatives to methyl bromide in accordance with this important international treaty,” stated Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN).
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