The last event of the IFAJ Congress was a Lake Thun dinner cruise. The “Berner Oberland” is a beautiful boat and we had a wonderful evening. As we got on the boat we were greeted with gifts (Swiss watches) and some kind of a fruity concoction that I didn’t get a name for. It was kind of like a strawberry/fruit juice with a sparkling wine in it.
Our onboard entertainment was a New Orleans Jazz Band. Talk about surrealistic when all the news we’d been seeing was on the tragedy in New Orleans! They were good though.
The boat had 3 levels counting the top, open area where we were able to get spectacular views of the mountains and the sunset.
AgWired reports on IFAJ Congress 2005 are sponsored by Pioneer Hi-Bred.
This was just sent out from the 
As I just mentioned in my last post about CornTalk, you podcast subscribers to the MBIC Report should have received it earlier this week. But now it’s also posted for those of you who just like to click and listen.
We’ve had this week’s CornTalk from the 
September is food safety month and the 
The farm where we ate lunch on the final day of the IFAJ Congress is owned by Fritz and Maria Santschi-Schiefer in Sigriswil. I interviewed Maria and her daughter Martina who talked about their family farm operation and the challenges they face.
One of the best things about an IFAJ Congress is meeting agricultural journalists from other countries. There were representatives from at least 30 countries here!
We thought we’d had a cheese fest earlier at the IFAJ Congress but little did we know what was in store when we visited this farm for lunch on the final day. I didn’t count but I think we had at least 40 different kinds of cheese to choose from!
We really couldn’t have been in a more picturesque setting for lunch either. The view was spectacular.
This morning Senate Ag Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, with the help of his very capable communications director, Keith Williams, held a technologically advanced press conference with farm reporters. Using a chat room for reporters to sign on and ask questions and a live internet audio feed, Senator Chambliss addressed a number of questions related to congressional activities in light of the hurricane disaster. Some of the points he made were that basically, this changes everything as far as congressional activities are concerned. Deadlines for appropriations bills will likely be changed, consideration of the death tax repeal will be put off, and agricultural disaster aid will be part of subsequent disaster supplementals once total costs are determined. Besides the producers in the affected states, energy and fertilizer costs are increasing and transportation has been disrupted for producers everywhere, and he noted that agriculture is unable to pass along increased input costs. However, Chambliss did say that he expects WTO and other trade negotiations to move ahead despite the disaster.
One thing you notice wandering around Switzerland is that they don’t seem to have an “obesity problem.” I don’t even think they have a food pyramid or national governmental campaign to try to convince you that you should eat a balanced diet!
Then there was the not-to-be-forgotton walk to lunch on Saturday. It was basically straight up a hill to the farm where we ate. Some did get to ride in a car but the rest walked. It really wasn’t far but it required a few stops on the way.