Here’s the lastest story from Paul McKellips, US Department of State, Public Affairs GO Team on assignment in Iraq. I really appreciate what he’s doing and the look at agriculture in a country like Iraq. This time he visits a meat market.
The shopping experience in Iraq is quite unique. Fruits and vegetables are purchased at farmers markets and roadside stands. Lamb is often purchased directly from the village butcher. Meat and poultry are bought at local meat markets. Listeners may be surprised to learn what one of the preferred meats in Iraq is.
Here’s Paul’s report: 
Iraq Meat Markets (1 min MP3)
PCVAD Awards
PCVAD is a whole lot easier to say than porcine circovirus associated disease don’t you think?
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. announces the recipients of its inaugural research award program directed at porcine circovirus associated disease (PCVAD). The $75,000 PCVAD Research Awards will fund three research studies designed to improve the industry’s understanding and management of this devastating disease complex. The following 2006 award recipients and their research proposals were recognized at the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minn.:
Vaccines Winning the War
The introduction of two new vaccines has helped turn the tide in the battle in Canada to contain a potentially deadly condition that’s taken a huge toll on swineherds around the world.
Porcine Circovirus Associated Disease (PCVAD), previously called Post-weaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS), is a viral disease that typically affects young pigs, weanlings, from eight to 16 weeks of age. However, symptoms tend to manifest themselves in the grower phase and the disease is often fatal. The disease, first characterized in western Canada in 1995 became widespread worldwide since then. Read More
Developing Kentucky Sheep/Goats
The sheep and goat groups of Kentucky are working together on a project just approved by the Kentucky Ag Development Board.
The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board approved Kentucky Sheep and Wool Producers (KSWP) for $184,000 in state funds to establish the Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office. This was one of 27 projects approved. According to Roger Thacker, sheep producer and member of the project’s working group, “This two-year grant will allow the sheep and goat industries of this state to work together on projects that are mutually advantageous. We are excited to begin this joint effort which will provide more political visibility for each organization.” Read More
LiveAuctions.tv
Sometimes it pays to go through your junk mail box to make sure that it’s only got junk in it. I did just now and found an announcement from LiveAuction.tv.
I can’t say that I’ve heard of them. It looks like you can choose between live auctions and auction markets around the country.
Here’s the instructions that were in the email announcement:
How To Bid
Step 1) Register for a free LiveAuctions.tv account (one-time registration).
Step 2) Log-in to your desired auctions and “Request a Buyer Number” for each auction you desire to bid on.
Special Note:
Due to the increasing numbers of online bidders and “Buyer # Requests” please register and sign-up early to guarantee that your online seat is saved and your buyer number has been processed. LiveAuctions.tv makes no guarantees that a user will be assigned a buyer number the day of the sale.
I didn’t create an account to see how it works. If you have, let me know what you think.
Cow Parachuting
This is something you need on a Friday. A video of parachuting cows.
It’s a Chick-fil-A spot to promote their message of “Eat More Chicken”.
Adrants says The Richards Group created the ad.
You Haven’t Taken Our Survey Yet, Have You?
I know, I’m being a pain. But we want our survey (1st annual?) to be as meaningful as possible. We’ve had quite a few done so far (Thank you) but I’d really like more of you to chime in. I just did one last night for somebody that was agonizing in more ways than one. It had pages full of questions, all kinds of questions. Our is short, simple and you really don’t have to think hard to answer the questions.
So come on, take maybe 3 minutes and get your survey done today. Please?
Reaching Foodies Today
I know there are a lot of you who work for or support groups who want to reach consumers about various kinds of food. You might be interested in a recent story on eMarketer.com that contains some study information like in this graphic.
They pulled together information from a couple of sources like the following:
According to comScore Media Metrix, 39 million Americans visited food Web sites in July 2006, up 23% from a year earlier. FoodNetwork.com claims the top spot among all food Web sites in the US, capitalizing on its TV popularity and developing deeper relationships with its viewers.
Zune Availability Announced
Now we know when the Microsoft digital media player will be on the market. This 30GB bad boy will be in stores by November 14 with a retail price of $249. It has some nice features and will play more types of files than an iPod.
Just letting you know what to get your favorite farmer for Christmas. You know he/she will want to be listening to the latest farm podcasts.
Learn more from this story.
I’ve got to believe that between Apple and Microsoft marketing their products heavily, we’ll soon be reading statistics that say something like the average home in America has 2.556 digital media players.
Environmental Journalists Vermont Bound
I think it would be interesting to attend the Society of Environmental Journalists convention for several reasons. (Want to sponsor me? I’ll put your sponsor tag in every blog post!)
I’d like to know more about what makes an environmental journalist. I think we write about a lot of things that have to do with the environment. Does that make us environmental journalists? It’s in Vermont. I’ve never been but have always wanted to visit that part of the country. They have sessions like “Talk Back To Your Car” on new automobile fuel technologies or a tour called, “From Cow Power to Urban Farms: Sustainable Agriculture in the 21st Century.”
What do you think?