Farm and Food Policy Project

Chuck Zimmerman

Farm & Food Policy ProjectIt looks like there’s a new player in the farm policy game. The Farm and Food Policy Project will be conducting a press conference in Washington, DC on Monday, January 22 to release a report titled, “Seeking Balance in U.S. Farm and Food Policy.”

A broad alliance of agriculture, anti-hunger, faith-based, public health, rural, and conservation groups call for a new generation of farm and food policies to address the nation’s most pressing challenges. The Farm and Food Policy Project (FFPP) is a collaboration of diverse organizations united by the common vision of a more sustainable food and agricultural system for the United States. The FFPP facilitated a consensus building process culminating in a joint farm bill declaration that has now been endorsed by over 350 organizations. This declaration – Seeking Balance in U.S. Farm and Food Policy – will be released at the news/phone conference.

Presenters Include:

Linda Berlin, Society for Nutrition Education
Scott Faber, Farm Policy Campaign Director, Environmental Defense
Ralph Grossi, President, American Farmland Trust
Allen Hance, Senior Policy Analyst, Northeast-Midwest Institute and Coordinator, Farm and Food Policy Project
Ferd Hoefner, Policy Director, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Savi Horne, Director, Land Loss Prevention Project, North Carolina

Farm Policy

UglyRipe Wins The Fight

Chuck Zimmerman

Uglyripe TomatoYou might remember the good old UglyRipe and the battle its developers were having with the Florida Tomato Committee. Well it looks like tasty but ugly wins out.

The tomato’s developer, Joe Procacci, had been at odds over the tomato with the FTC, a group of competing growers sanctioned by federal law. The FTC is empowered to determine all size and shape standards for tomatoes entering the U.S. market from mid-October to mid-June, the time of year when many Americans claim they’re unable to find a tasty tomato. For the last three years, the FTC has found that the UglyRipe does not meet its rigorous standards, which are based on size and shape, but not taste. The FTC rejection meant that the tomatoes were prohibited for sale outside of the Florida growing region during the winter months.

The new USDA rule, published in today’s (January 17) Federal Register, amends the Florida Tomato Marketing Order to exempt the UglyRipe from the shape portion of the USDA grade standards as long as the UglyRipe is grown, packed, and distributed under USDA’s Identity Preservation Program (IPP). The IPP uses the unique genetic fingerprint of a produce variety to assure that it is in fact the product claimed by its grower. The UglyRipe will still have to meet all of the other grade standards imposed under the marketing order.

Ag Groups, Agribusiness, Food

Acres of Food

Chuck Zimmerman

Green Week Food BoothIf you’re interested in acres of food booths then Green Week is the place to be. It’s really hard to convey how large this show is. This booth is just a representative sample of what you’ll find here.

I promised you some statistics on Green Week so here we go. This is Green Week #81. There are 1,601 exhibitors from 56 countries (543 of them came from outside Germany). I haven’t heard a projection yet on attendance but I’ll find out.

Farm Shows, Food, IFAJ, International

All About the IFAJ Congress in Japan

Chuck Zimmerman

Masaru YamadaRight after our sushi lunch which did include some of the best sake I’ve ever tasted (really didn’t think I liked sake until now) I got to interview Yamada Masaru who is one of the main organizers for the IFAJ Congress 2007.

If you’re interested in finding out what to expect should you decide to participate this year then take a couple minutes to listen to our interview.

Listen to my interview with the Maz Man (4 minutes):ifaj-berlin-2007-mas.mp3

I’m not sure I mentioned this before but my trip here to Berlin is being sponsored by the American Agricultural Editors Association, Professional Improvement Fund as well as Messe Berlin, the organizers of International Green Week.

ACN, Farm Shows, IFAJ, International

Sushi Lunch in Berlin

Chuck Zimmerman

Sushi ManAfter getting some proposals out and doing a little email catch up this morning I got to the Green Week press center in time for an excellent Japanese box lunch. The IFAJ executive committee was given a presentation on this fall’s IFAJ Congress 2007 which will be in Japan.

Online registration has already started for the Congress with a very detailed agenda available at the end of next month. To obtain early registration rates you need to book your trip before May.

Hey all you American agricultural journalists. I know some of you have travelled abroad but you’ve probably never had an international trip put on by your peers in another country if you haven’t been to an IFAJ Congress. This is looking like a good one and the organizers have put together affordable choices. See if you can get it on your agenda. I especially encourage farm broadcasters to get involved.

I think this was probably the healthiest meal I’ve had since getting to Berlin. No, that’s not true. We had an excellent pork and vegetable soup for lunch yesterday. I’ll be wandering around the exhibit halls later this afternoon and as you’ll see from upcoming pictures there’s going to be the temptation to sample and that’s going to be tough to fight.

Farm Shows, Food, IFAJ, International

Late Night With IFAJ

Chuck Zimmerman

IFAJ BoysIt got a little late out in Berlin last night with my IFAJ buddies. Here’s a few of them. We braved the rain and wind to go out to a very nice dinner.

And then the Prez decided we should stop on the way back to the hotel for “just one more.” That of course turned into a songfest which I’m sure entertained (maybe annoyed?) the local patrons of the fine establishment we stopped off at. I had to document some of the fun for you too which is now on YouTube for the world to see.

Farm Shows, IFAJ, International, Video

Industrial Hemp Farms?

Chuck Zimmerman

Vote HempThe first image that came to my mind when I saw this was of a very relaxed and happy farmer harvesting his crop while listening to some cool tunes on his iPhone. I wonder if it’s going to happen. I wonder how you would market this crop and where. I wonder a lot of things sometimes.

North Dakota’s Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson has accepted the first application from a farmer for a state Industrial Hemp license. The license, which is expected to be granted, will go to farmer and North Dakota Assistant House Majority Leader David Monson, ten years after the first hemp bill was passed in the state. Farmers will make history as North Dakota is the first state to grant commercial hemp farming licenses in the United States in fifty years. It is unclear what the Drug Enforcement Administration will do when they receive requests for the licenses to be effective.

“I submitted my application for an industrial hemp license with the state Department of Agriculture earlier today,” said Representative David Monson, R-Osnabrock. “I expect that the state will grant me a hemp farming license, but I’m not sure that the $3,440 non-refundable registration fee I will send to DEA with my application for manufacturing and importing will get me anything.

Full Release

Farming, hemp

Arab Marshlands Returning To Life

Chuck Zimmerman

Arab MarshlandsHere’s one of the latest reports from Paul McKellips, Global Outreach Officer, US Embassy Baghdad, The Green Room – Public Affairs GO Team. Like a lot of what Paul is finding out, there’s way more good going on in Iraq than our mainstream media would like you to think. I guess that re-building an agricultural industry isn’t juicy news but I think it is.

From 1991 until 2003, Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist Regime nearly destroyed the Mesopotamian Marshlands, one of the largest wetlands systems in the world. Massive drainage structures were used to divert water away from the 8,000 square miles of marshes. The 5,000-year old Marsh Arab society was exiled and nearly annihilated. Thousands and thousands of residents were brutally murdered. With help from USAID, the American military and coalition partners, the new Iraqi government has been working to restore the wetlands at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates in southern Iraq. Reflooding has now covered 25- to 30-percent of the original marshlands. Contractors for USAID have already released 2 million fingerlings back into the marshes.

Full Report (Word doc)

Listen to his report:

arab-marshlands-returning-to-life.mp3
Audio, International

Freebairn Agency For MANA

Chuck Zimmerman

MANAIt’s good to see the Freebairn name again in my inbox. They just received a new client for their services – Makhteshim Agan of North America Inc.

MANA, based in Raleigh, N.C., is the North American subsidiary of Makhteshim Agan Industries, Ltd., the world’s leading provider of generic crop protection products. MANA currently offers over 45 branded insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators and harvest aids to improve the bottom line of agriculture production.

Freebairn & Co. will assist MANA with development of advertising, public relations and interactive programs to support product use across the agricultural areas of the U.S. “Following a lengthy search, we were ultimately impressed with the Freebairn team’s experience in agriculture, their range of services and the agency’s broad involvement with global marketers similar to us,” explains Troy Bettner, MANA senior marketing manager.

Agencies, Agribusiness

EU Commissioner of Ag Mariann Boel

Chuck Zimmerman

Mariann Fischer BoelWe heard from a lot of politicians today but the one I think who had the clearest message was the EU Commissioner of Agriculture Mariann Fischer Boel. She’s a pretty straight talking lady and I recorded her whole press conference for you. Later in the afternoon I got to interview her personally too.

She really likes to emphasize quality in production agriculture as you’ll hear from her remarks. She wants American farmers to know that she’s going to go to the United States later this year to meet and talk with farmers. She spoke a lot about the potential of biofuels in her press conference too. Just like in the U.S., biofuels is the hot topic here right now.

Listen to my interview with Commissioner Boel (1 minute):ifaj-berlin-boel-interview.mp3

Listen to the complete press conference with Commissioner Boel and note that some parts are done by an interpreter although she speaks English throughout (49 minutes):ifaj-berlin-2007-boel.mp3

Audio, Farm Shows, IFAJ, International