Food and Farming Canada » IFAJ 2008

A little rant…because I can

Lilian — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 03:46:32 +0000

Spending a lot of time in airports and on airplanes gives you plenty of time to think about random things. And right now I’m wondering about the rationale behind corporations who re-name themselves with these non-descript names or acronyms that don’t actually mean anything to anyone hearing them.

I was thinking about that this morning when I [...]

From fruit to feed and food

Lilian — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:46:51 +0000

Although I’ve been home from the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) congress for close to a week, I’m still getting caught up on posts as I finish working my way through the last couple of days of the event. This next one is making me hungry just thinking about it – must be because it’s [...]

Processing the experience

Kelly Daynard — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 15:35:51 +0000

When attending an agenda-packed international event like the recent IFAJ Congress, it’s all you can do to focus on the moment. Day after day we were kept scurrying from one event to another and from one farm visit to the next. We often left our hotels by 7 a.m. and didn’t return [...]

But for the kindness of strangers

Lilian — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:20:33 +0000

We have known since we arrived in Austria that we might have some difficulties getting home from the IFAJ congress because of some bad flight scheduling on our part – inadvertent but still our fault.

But neither Kelly nor I had any idea of how hard it is to get there from here, or that we [...]

More than just pie

Lilian — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:13:30 +0000

For me, pumpkin is indelibly linked to that sure-fire sign of fall, pie.

But here in the Styrian region of Austria, pie is the furthest thing from their minds and pumpkin production is booming.Pumpkins are grown and harvested to create a distinctive pumpkin seed oil that is used in salad and other dressings.

Upon harvest, a special [...]

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 [...]

Threats from bears and lynx

Kelly Daynard — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:35:36 +0000

Canadian sheep farmers who deal with threats from predators on a daily basis should take a little solace in the comfort that they´re not alone. Slovenian sheep and goat producers face the same challenges and, like in so many other sectors of European Union agriculture, rely heavily on subsidies to help them deal with these challenges.

Today delegates [...]

Canada cleans up

Lilian — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 04:37:27 +0000

There was an impressive showing by Canadian agricultural writers and photographers at the 2008 Star Prize awards handed out at the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists in Graz, Austria yesterday.Laura Rance of Manitoba won top honors in the “people” category of the photography competition with an entry called Classroom at the Farm, shown here on the [...]

Beef farming in a postcard setting

Kelly Daynard — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:44:48 +0000

Today, in Austria, we stepped off of our bus and into the middle of a postcard. High up in the mountains, the scenery fulfilled every stereotype I’ve ever had about this country. Cow bells could be heard in the distance. A babbling brook twisted alongside the roadway. Every home was a flower-laden [...]

It was like looking in a mirror

Lilian — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:22:09 +0000

It was an all-too-familiar tune and one that most in the international audience could strongly relate to.

The President of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry for Styria (one of Austria’s nine provinces), Gerhard Wlodkowski, talked to us about his organization’s activities last night – and chief among them was raising public awareness about how food [...]