U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns was on hand at the World Agricultural Forum Congress. Here he is getting interviewed by Mizzou Ag Journalism blogger Julia Shuck. His full comments are available online. Here’s an excerpt.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the Doha talks, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to really have a profound impact on hunger and poverty in the developing world. Two-thirds of the WTO member countries are developing countries; 32 of these are considered least developed countries, truly the poorest of the poor. In these countries, over 70 percent of the poor live in rural areas where agriculture is the employer.
The World Bank has calculated that roughly half of the global economic benefit from free trade would be enjoyed by developing countries. And more than 90 percent of their gains would come from reducing tariffs. The Peterson Institute of International Economics estimates global free trade could lift as many as 500 million people out of poverty and inject $200 billion annually into the economies of developing countries.
The simple fact is economic growth spurred by trade liberalization can have a profound impact, actually far more than voluntary aid donations although those are enormously important also. When the day comes that the nations of the world agree on greater trade liberalization, the United States is ready to be a good trading partner.
Any award with a name like the Golden Plow deserves a post on AgWired. This is an 
I think the national news has certainly drawn people’s attention to the flooding problem here in Missouri. I was out and about today and took a few pictures along a couple different parts of the Missouri River.
This week on the ZimmCast (I know I’m a little late) you can hear an anecdote from Bobby Rahal about his racing career and learn more about the World Agricultural Forum.
We can’t forget that May is Beef Month and here in Missouri our governor, Matt Blunt, made a proclamation at the state capitol. Missouri beef cattle industry representatives presented Governor Matt Blunt with the Healthy Beef Cookbook in honor of May Beef Month. Left to right: Governor Blunt, Missouri Cattlemen’s Association president Merrel Breyer, producer Jimmy Long and son Jack, Missouri Beef Industry Council staff member Dawn Thurnau, and MBIC board member David “Blue” Geier.
Let’s go from chicken to pork now. Here’s Joseph Royer who just won the 2007 Taste of Elegance contest sponsored by 
“The national Taste of Elegance contest brought some of the nation’s best chefs together to share their talent using pork,” said Dianne Bettin, a pork producer from Minnesota and National Pork Board member. “By reaching chefs through Checkoff programs like this, the goal is to increase pork items on menus.”
Birmingham, AL was the place to be for the 
Michelle Anderson, a training analyst from Eagle, Idaho, created the dish -“Thai-Inspired Stuffed Chicken Breast and Slaw” – and prepared it for a panel of food writers and editors in a competition involving a contestant from every state in the Union and the District of Columbia.
As a way to honor the late Sonja Hillgren, Farm Journal has set up the Sonja Hillgren/FARM JOURNAL Ag Journalism Field Reporting Institute. This “will allow the spirit of the late Sonja Hillgren to live on in future reporters at her alma mater, the