|  It’s finally here.
The International Federation of Agriculture Journalists (IFAJ) 2011 congress is now underway with several pre-congress events taking place in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Together with my colleague Owen Roberts (@theurbancowboy), I’m co-chairing this gathering of about 260 farm journalists from 30 countries around the world, which is taking place in Ontario this week. The last time Canada hosted this annual conference for agricultural writers was in 1967, so this is a big deal for us. Continue reading World’s farm journalists come to Canada  That’s our count down to the kick off of the 2011 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ annual congress.
In case you’re wondering why I’m interested – I’m co-chair of this event and we’re going to be hosting it in Canada, Guelph and Niagara Falls to be exact, for the first time in over 40 years! As part of our marketing efforts, my colleagues Kelly Daynard and Sarah Andrewes, Chairs of the Registration and Promotions committees respectively, have launched a monthly newsletter about the event full of great info, facts and tidbits about Canadian food and farming. Continue reading Only 336 days to go!  Imagine an 11 acre indoor garden with two kilometres of walking paths, 776 cubic feet of soil, 4736 square feet of pond surface and 300,000 visitors over eight days.
That’s the world famous Floralies of Ghent, an incredible floral and plant exposition that takes place once every five years – a tradition that’s been ongoing for over 200 years.
Continue reading A floral paradise Last month, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists (IFAJ) annual congress, which took place in Belgium and Luxembourg. Much to my satisfaction – as one who really loves to eat – food and drink played a key role in this gathering of those who write about food and farming. Not only did we enjoy consuming it, we were also quite keen to take photos of what was placed before us, as you can see here: Continue reading An IFAJ congress in food and drink  There was a bit of deja-vu in the air along with the ash as I read in the news this morning that an airport-closing plume had made another appearance in Britain.
It seems a bit like old news now – but a few short weeks ago, the impossibly-named volcano in Iceland that had somehow managed to send global air travel into a tailspin was making headlines around the world. I had a unique perspective on that particular story as I arrived in Europe to participate in the International Federation of Agriculture Journalists’ (IFAJ) Congress in Belgium a day before the now infamous eruption.
Continue reading Return of the ash  There’s a new leader at the helm of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers’ Association (ECFWA). Clare Illingworth, a communications specialist with Syngenta Crop Protection, became president of the organization at its annual meeting this week.
Illingworth, who has served on the ECFWA board for several years, first as a director and most recently as Second Vice President, takes over from outgoing president Kelly Daynard, program manager with the Ontario Farm Animal Council. Continue reading Farm writers elect new president  Some great news to start off the week: I have just learned that I am one of the winners of the IFAJ-Alltech Young Leaders Award this year!
This means I’ll be attending the 2010 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists congress in Belgium this spring as one of ten young leaders from around the world. The award is sponsored by Alltech, a global animal health company, and the IFAJ, a non-political, professional association for agricultural journalists. Continue reading Young Leader Award winners announced | |
