Besides the alpine horns we were treated to authentic Swiss yodeling. I didn’t get the name of our yodeler but you can of course listen to her. We did some singing at dinner later and probably should have invited her to join us. As you’ll hear our singing left a lot to be desired.
Listen to the yodeling here: 
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
I’ve seen these horns before but usually on display. Here at the dinner site we were able to see/hear them in action. These two played them very well.
If you’d like to hear what the alpine horns sound like you can listen here:
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
The IFAJ main hotel is the Seepark, where I’m staying. I couldn’t get internet access to work in my room but there was an extra DSL cable in the press room. Here you can see two people hard at work. On the left is Diane Johnson, executive director of the Livestock Publications Council and Mariann Back Nielsen, consultant with 2vejs kommunikation.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Swiss hospitality! After our city reception in Thun, we went up the mountainside a little ways to Gasthof Weyersbuhl, a beautiful little house/farm located in Uebeschi, for another reception and dinner. We started out with some refreshments which were different fruit juices but not what we in America would call fruit punch. I really don’t know what they were but they were good.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Next on our program opening night was Ursula Haller, vice mayor of Thun. She described what happened during the recent flooding here and how they’re dealing with it. I interviewed Ursula after she spoke.
You can listen to my interview with Ursula here:
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
We’re rocking now. I’m in the IFAJ press room at the Seepark Hotel. Thank goodness for working internet access! We got in yesterday just in time to make it to the opening reception in Thun in a historic old building. We had wine, bread and cheese (Swiss cheese). To get us started at the Rathaus the president of the Swiss Ag Journalists, Adrian Krebs, welcomed us and told us to “stay on time.”
Just over a week ago this city had serious flooding and the building we were in had over a foot of water in it. You couldn’t tell at all.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Hello from IFAJ Congress 2005 in Thun, Switzerland! What a day. Sorry I don’t have more up yet but our flight out of New York was delayed almost 4 hours. Then when we got here we had to take off for the first activities of the event. I have lots of material that I’ll be putting up tomorrow. It’s after 11pm here now and I’m using a press room computer that’s not set up for the standard english person like me. That means some keys are in different places and hard to find at this time of night if you know what I mean.
Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get the whole internet thing figured out since after we checked in I found out that I couldn’t get connected without the help of a technician who left the hotel before I got here. So there’s lots more to come AgWired fans. Just be patient and you’ll get the full cultural effect of ag communications in Switzerland!
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
Another company announces a website revamp. I am not on high speed here in the airport so I only got a short time to look at the new MachineryLink website. It looks pretty simple and “clean.” By clean I mean uncluttered with too many images and other stuff. I like the fact that you can listen to interviews in the news section!! They ought to consider an RSS feed of their releases though. Ag communications people need to listen up on this! If you wonder what I mean just give me a call and I can even set it up for you.
I’m about to board for Switzerland where I will be spending some time with Kelly Schwalbe, BCS Communications, a KC, MO company that does work for MachineryLink. I’ll bring up some ideas with him and see what he thinks.
MachineryLink, Inc., announces that it has redesigned and improved its Web site, www.machinerylink.com, to make it more informative and functional for farmers wanting to better manage their machinery assets or looking for equipment leasing options.
Doug Ballou, vice president of marketing for MachineryLink, Inc., says the increased use of the Internet among farmers, combined with the growing popularity of asset management and shared utilization of equipment, created the need for a more comprehensive Web site.
“More farmers are searching the Internet for information on alternatives to owning seasonal equipment such as combines, tractors and cotton strippers,” Ballou explains. “As a leader in the concept of shared utilization of machinery, we believe it’s important to provide the current, in-depth information and other financial tools and resources on the topic that farmers will find useful.”
Ballou adds that visitors to the new MachineryLink Web site will find more information from a number of qualified sources, as well as links to many organizations that provide asset management information and equipment solutions. In addition, the company has improved its widely used marketplace site for buying and selling used machinery.
For more information contact Christy Borrowman at 816-474-3166.
The folks at the Brownfield Network have been working overtime to bring great radio to the web. I guess that makes it webradio? Anyway, you can see/hear some of their latest new stuff from the Nebraska State Fair. Use this link: Brownfield Farm Forums: Nebraska State Fair Their coverage was sponsored by the Nebraska Corn Growers Association and Nebraska Corn Board.
They did live webcast farm forums such as, “Technology in the Field” with Greg Ibach, Nebraska Department of Agriculture; Steve Wiese, Nebraska Corn Growers Association, Mark Jagels, Nebraska Corn Board and area farmers using cutting edge technology to produce grain & livestock. Another one was called “Beefing Up with Ethanol,” with Galen Erickson, University of Nebraska; Jon Holzfaster, Nebraska Corn Board; and Pete McClymont, Nebraska Cattlemen Association. This one focused on the impact of alternative fuels in the livestock industry and how farmers are using ethanol by-products in their cattle operations. And finally, one on “Fueling Nebraska’s Economy: the Growing Ethanol Industry.” This roundtable discussion features expert panelists from the Nebraska Ethanol Board, the Corn Board, and a leading official on state economic development.
You can listen to all these forums by visiting links to them on their website. There’s also lots of pictures from the fair. Excellent coverage
This might be my last post before heading to the airport on the way to the IFAJ Congress. To get you in the mood I’ve got my interview in the form of a special ZimmCast with Greg Lamp, editor of Corn & Soybean Digest. Greg will be on the trip and is on the IFAJ executive committee, representing the United States.
You can listen to my interview with Greg here: (3.8MB MP3 File)
Greg talks about the value of interaction with foreign ag journalists and the structure of the meeting we’ll be attending.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
