Food and Farming Canada » IFAJ 2007 japan

The hills ARE alive!

Lilian — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:05:47 +0000

Much of Austria is covered in pastoral mountainside fields – beautifully scenic but largely unsuited for agriculture.

But in the mountainous northern regions of the Austrian province of Styria, some entrepreneurial farmers are not only making a living by farming on the alpine pastures, they’re also revitalizing rural communities and keeping ancient traditions alive.Farmer Ernst Hofer raises [...]

Home at last

Lilian — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 02:36:51 +0000

No matter how good a trip has been, there’s always something special about coming home. Now comes time to unpack, sort through all the materials we’ve gathered over the last week and finish downloading and filing all the pictures.

Japan was a wonderful experience – the people were warm and welcoming, and always helpful, even when language [...]

Team Canada in Japan

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:41:03 +0000

Five Canadians were present at this year’s annual IFAJ congress in Japan (from left): Kim Waalderbos, winner of the 2007 Canadian Farm Writers Federation travel bursary (sponsored by Monsanto) Owen Roberts, IFAJ Vice President of Professional Development and co-chair of the 2011 IFAJ congress in Canada Lilian Schaer, President of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers’ Association and co-chair of [...]

Getting the word out about Canada

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:31:25 +0000

Earlier this week, Owen and I gave our first official talk about IFAJ 2011 to the assembly of delegates. Ever since, we’ve been inundated with questions and suggestions by eager farm writers and communicators from around the world keen to experience Canada and all we have to offer.

A commodity has been our gold IFAJ 2011 [...]

Dairy processing

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:16:23 +0000

A visit to the Michinoku Milk Company gave us insights into Japan’s dairy food sector. It’s chief brand name is MegMilk, which can be widely seen on milk cartons and dairy drinks across the country. The company, founded in 1993, is located in Osaki City in the northwestern part of Miyagi prefecture and produces a wide [...]

A country lunch

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:54:33 +0000

Our Japanese hosts were very eager to provide us with as many truly Japanese experiences as possible. One of these was a lunch of traditional foods at a Japanese-style restaurant. Our meal included rice balls, miso soup, vegetables and tofu, all artfully arranged in many small and delicate dishes and prepared by local farm women. The [...]

A word about shoes

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:43:09 +0000

Shoes are very important in Japan – considerable time is spent taking them off and putting them on each day as you enter and leave various premises. This is especially prevalent in rural areas, where old customs and traditions are still heartily embraced and practiced.

Several of our tour stops asked us to remove our shoes [...]

Agriculture in Miyagi Prefecture

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:35:44 +0000

Two days of our IFAJ conference in Japan were spent touring around Miyagi prefecture, one of the most agriculture-intensive areas of the country. Miyagi has a population of 2.37 million people, and is home to 13% of Japan’s agriculture. It’s total annual ag production is approximately $20 million CDN. Rice, produce and livestock are its main [...]

Promoting local food from local farmers

Lilian — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:23:22 +0000

One of our tour stops took us to a local farmer’s market in Miyagi prefecture about two hours north of Tokyo. It was a sight to behold: more than three million customers pass through its doors every year. According to market general manager Jin-ichi Sato, only two places in the entire prefecture – or state/province – [...]

Rice milling

Lilian — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 22:04:14 +0000

A very interesting stop took us to Pearl Rice Milling Miyagi yesterday where we learned how the Japanese make their famous rice. Rice’s growing season starts with planting in early May and ends with harvest in mid-October when the rice plants have turned a brown colour. Following harvest, rice is delivered to a country elevator, where [...]