This event is what we consider “business casual”. The following are examples for women to wear: pant suits, light sweaters, khaki pants and summer skirts. Men usually wear very nice pressed jeans, khaki pants but sometimes also wear a sport coat or jacket. Usually men do not wear ties to the workshops and sessions during the day.
Friday night and Sunday night parties will both have a western theme. So plan on blue jeans or shorts and your belts, boots and hat!
For those of you going on the tours: We have been very careful to select locations that do not put you out in a field in the heat of the day. Most will have buildings with air conditioning. Regardless, wear loose fitting clothing that will be comfortable to travel in. We will have plenty of water and other cold beverages for you on all tours.
The only formal night is Tuesday night’s awards dinner. Ladies, we encourage you to bring a nice dress, sparkly sequins are fine! Gentlemen, you will definitely want to wear a suit jacket with ties.
IMPORTANT: Hotels in the U.S. have air conditioning and THEY USE IT! So if you tend to be cold natured or do not like air conditioning, you must bring a wrap or sweater. YOU WILL NEED IT! Have any more fashion questions? Let me know!
On Friday (26 June) I’m going to post a list of everyone who has registered from outside of the U.S. for the Congress. This way you can see who is coming from your country and other friends you have met from other Congresses. I am also going to include your ARRIVAL day because many of you have added on an extra night and we want to be sure that we have that correct. Keep in mind, we are going to pick you up at the airport, so this information is very important for you to check. Keep informed by communicating with your “buddies” too!
NOTE: The list was sent out to each individual on Friday. A few updates will be made to it and posted here soon.
Janet Hunter, who is working on our post-Congress tours, sent this to me and even translated it for all of our German speaking friends:
IFAJ friends,
The 2009 Congress is only six weeks from now. If you have any questions about the meeting or the agricultural tours, please e-mail your IFAJ buddy or me. We in Texas look forward to welcoming you to Fort Worth.
IFAJ Freunde,
der Kongress 2009 beginnt in nur sechs Wochen. Wenn ihr Fragen bezüglich des Treffens oder bezüglich der landwirtschaftlichen Führungen habt, bitte sendet eurem IFAJ-Partner oder mir eine E-Mail. Wir in Texas freuen uns darauf, euch in Fort Worth willkommen zu heißen.
Some of you have requested some information on sources for agriculture in the U.S. Here are some links that you can go to prior to coming to the Congress. Steve Werblow, our co-chairman of the program committee furnished this information:
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service publishes great papers on markets and economics. There’s an index online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Browse/. There are papers and articles on many topics, from individual crops to labor to trade issues, other countries, etc. The USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (http://www.nass.usda.gov/#)is a great place to find data on anything agriculture. This is the USDA’s 2002 book on topics that are mainly organized around federal programs and priorities such as cultural and economic diversity, Factbook of Agriculturehttp://www.usda.gov/factbook/ The Texas Department of Agriculture has a fact sheet online athttp://www.agr.state.tx.us/gt/channel/render/items/0,1218,1670_1693_0_1692,00.html
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As we find more information we will post it here. Want to know more? Let us know how we can help you. Post a comment here!
I’ve noticed many of you are flying on American Airlines and I just received this e-mail that I thought I’d pass on. Check it out and, for those who are flying a different airline, the rules are similar, but please check with your specific airline to be sure of restrictions.
The following descriptions are for the tours that are scheduled on Saturday afternoon during the Congress. We need you to choose which one you want to go on. Please read through the descriptions and let your buddy know as soon as possible. This will be first come, first served so don’t delay in case a tour fills up before you get your first choice. You must decide by next FRIDAY, June 19 so we can finalize our plans.
TOUR 1: NORTHWEST FORT WORTH
ROCKY TOP THERAPY CENTER, Keller
Rocky Top Therapy Center addresses the needs of more than 200 emotionally, mentally and physically challenged individuals each week utilizing 53 therapy horses, a low-elements challenge course and a barnyard filled with pot-bellied pigs, goats, chickens and miniature donkeys and horses. ALLFLEX, Dallas
Allflex is the world leader in design, technology, manufacturing and delivery of animal identification for traceability systems across all production. Allflex brings cutting-edge, practical applications of visual, electronic and radio frequency animal identification technology to livestock industries across the world, contributing to a safer global food supply. SUPERIOR LIVESTOCK AUCTION, Fort Worth
Superior Livestock Auction is the nation’s leader in marketing load-lots of cattle via Satellite and the Internet. Committed to innovation and utilizing the best technology available, Superior leads the way in satellite video marketing and continues to take a leadership role in Internet marketing. TOUR 2: NORTHEAST TOWARD DALLAS TRI-TEX GRASS, Tioga
Tri-Tex Grass owns and operates an 800-acre farm in Tioga, Texas. They offer many different varieties and services for farmers’ grass needs. From big roll installation to one pallet of Bermuda, they have an experienced team ready to provide top quality and service. HORSE FARM, Pilot Point area
This part of the North Texas area is famous for the horse industry with competitive horses and their fabulous facilities around every corner. SOUTHFORK RANCH, Plano
Internationally renowned as the filming location for the “Dallas” TV series, Southfork Ranch is known worldwide as America’s most famous ranch.
TOUR 3: SOUTHERN FORT WORTH ALPHA EQUINE HORSE BREEDING, Granbury
At Alpha Equine a variety of services are offered on the 300 acre ranch: mare management, foaling, stallion management, shipped semen, on-ranch breeding, year-round mare care, sale-fitting, etc. under a knowledgeable and professional staff overseen by Dr. M.C. Baker. BURGUNDY BEEF, Grandview
From pasture to The Burgundy Boucherie - this country butcher markets, ages, cuts and packages their own beef and can prepare orders and deliver right to homes or businesses in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. BEAKLEY FARMS, Waxahachie
Diversified farm family business features cotton, wheat and sunflowers; boll weevil eradication and reduced tillage.
Next week you will be receiving an e-mail describing the final details of our tours for Saturday, Aug. 1 and on Tuesday, Aug. 4th. It will be extremely important that as soon as you receive this you respond back to your buddy with your choice. All of the tours are going to be very interesting and well worth your time, but when each one is filled up, then you may have to move to another one. Watch for this e-mail coming to your mailbox soon!
Oh and also, if you have not made your travel plans and can still go on one of the FANTASTIC post-Congress tours, there is still room but we need to know soon! Think about it and let us know if you still want to see a close up view of South Texas, West Texas or East/Central Texas.
Some of you have asked for the address and phone number for the headquarters hotel during the IFAJ Congress and Ag Media Summit. Here it is: Worthington Renaissance Hotel, 200 Main Street, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 76102; Telephone: 817-870-1000 (country code 011). Check it out, I think you’ll like it! http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dfwdt-renaissance-worthington-hotel-fort-worth/
We’re working on arrangements for your arrivals so it is very important to get your flight arrival day/time and airline flight numbers to us. By now you should have been contacted by your “buddy” from the U.S. planning committee and you can send your information to them. Not sure who your buddy is? Let me know and I’ll make sure you get connected. They are available to you as you have questions about ANYTHING for the Congress, travel, weather, what to wear…and on and on! The days are bringing us closer to a fabulous event! Questions? Write a comment for everyone or click here: dianej@flash.net
Hello IFAJ members. How many of you are tweeting? If you are then follow IFAJ. You can find us online at @IFAJ.
We set up the account to write about this year’s Congress and help get the word out. We’ll try to post more frequently on Twitter than here on the blog. So, feel free to follow.
For you Twitter experts, please use the #IFAJ hashtag in your posts on Twitter. That will make it easy for all of us to follow along with all that’s being said about IFAJ in the Twitterverse.
There are still ways to get involved and help the IFAJ/AMS committee in making this the best IFAJ Congress/Ag Media Summit it can possibly be - both for those who attend, and those unable to attend.
If you’re planning to attend one of the interesting news maker sessions or one of the sure-to-be-productive professional development workshops (there are nearly 35 in all this year!), why not let other members in on the secrets you learn? We are looking for volunteers who will be attending these sessions to write up summaries of key points and highlights for future newsletters. Since so many members are unable to attend the conference, but will benefit greatly from these contributions. Please contact Kenna Rathai, kenna.rathai@kbrcommunications.com, if you’re willing to help.
We are also still looking for “buddy” volunteers to help our IFAJ global attendees feel comfortable before and during their visit. Contact Becky Terry if you are interested, becky@showboatco.com.
The IFAJ Congress 2009 planning committee met for the last time face to face at the National Agri-Marketing Conference in Atlanta, GA today.
I interviewed Andy Atzenweiler, one of our committee members, and will post it when I get back to my room later. He says that the program is finalized and I got a copy of it. I’ll have the latest version posted here as soon as I get an electronic version of it. If you haven’t registered yet, please do since we’re in the last stages of getting all the arrangements finalized.
The 2009 IFAJ Congress in Fort Worth, Texas, will expand the scope of agricultural journalism conferences to the distant horizon - and beyond.
In addition to extensive tours of area agriculture, the traditional IFAJ delegate meeting, briefings from officials of the Texas Department of Agriculture (representing an $80 billion farm economy), hot Texas beef and cold Texas beer, IFAJ members will join in the professional development seminars and fun of the Agricultural Media Summit.
The Ag Media Summit draws hundreds of journalists, publishers, designers, public relations professionals and students from the United States and Canada for a rich program of professional development sessions and briefings from the day’s top newsmakers.
When the Summit ends on 5 August, post-conference tours will venture out across Texas, from the cattle and cotton of the dry Panhandle to the vast vegetable farms along the Mexican border.
You’ll go home with notebooks full of stories and gigabytes of photos. You’ll also return to work with new writing, photography and management skills, as well as countless new friends and contacts. (more…)
Haven’t registered for IFAJ Congress yet? Well this is your lucky day. Due to a couple of new deadlines, we are going to offer a grace period. We really appreciate everyone who has registered with the April 1 deadline, but if you still want to come to Fort Worth this summer for IFAJ Congress and the Ag Media Summit, we are going to allow you just a few more days to register and save up to $300. However, after April 13 the fees will go up — do not delay.
HERE’S A HINT: contact your credit card company or bank BEFORE you start your registration. Some of you are being protected by your credit card company, but it’s just making you go through some extra steps. So let them know that you are about to make a big transaction before you begin.
We have updated details on the tours that will start after the Congress is over. There are three different ones to choose from with the West Texas and South Texas tours starting on Wednesday morning (August 5th) and returning to Fort Worth on Saturday August 8th). There is also a tour that is one day shorter for those of you who need to get back home earlier. That tour will go to the beautiful Central and East Texas area including Texas A&M University to see the latest ag research projects.
•Two of the post-Congress tours (West Texas and South Texas) will start on Wednesday, August 5 and go through Saturday, August 8. Your post-Congress tour fee includes hotel accommodations through Saturday as well as airfare and transportation to the location of the tours. Cost for either of these tours is $950 per person single occupancy or $750 per person double occupancy.
•The third tour (Central/East Texas) is one day shorter and will start on Wednesday, August 5, and conclude on Friday night, August 7. This tour includes hotel accommodations through Friday night. Cost for this tour is $700 per person single occupancy or $550 per person double occupancy. If you wish to stay through Saturday night, we can help you with arrangements.
Just one one week left to get the early price for the IFAJ Congress — I’ve received registrations from Japan, Finland, Austria, Australia, South Africa — and that’s just to name a few! So click here and get registered. The countdown is four months and one week as of TODAY! Questions on anything? Post here and it might help someone else too.
As you travel to Fort Worth, Texas, this summer to attend the combined 2009 IFAJ Congress and Agricultural Media Summit, you’re going to be overwhelmed with a variety of things to do and see.
One important event you don’t want to miss is the InfoExpo – a key part of the Ag Media Summit. The Expo, which is a tradeshow held during the Summit, provides you with the perfect opportunity to network with hundreds of agricultural communication professionals and learn about exciting new products, innovations and services.
With at least 75 exhibitor booths each year, it’s a great way to interview key sources for potential stories. In addition, because the IFAJ Congress is a part of this year’s Ag Media Summit, several exhibitors have indicated they plan to bring key product managers and/or senior managers to visit with ag communicators from all over the world.
The InfoExpo will be open to visitors on Monday and Tuesday, August 3 and 4, 2009. To check out the complete schedule, visit www.agmediasummit.com/infoexpo.
Don’t let this exceptional opportunity pass you by. Saddle up! Catch the Cowboy Spirit and be sure to head on over to the InfoExpo during the Ag Media Summit.
The program for the upcoming Ag Media Summit is really coming together. This is the program that takes place after the IFAJ Congress. Well, the two programs sort of overlap actually.
I’m hoping that our IFAJ attendees will find some great professional improvement opportunities at the Ag Media Summit and stay if they can. To learn more about the program for the AMS I interviewed Joann Alumbaugh, program co-chair during a planning meeting we held in Ft. Worth at the hotel we’ll be staying in. She says they’ve put even more emphasis on the program this year due to IFAJ members who will be attending.
To start things out we’re going to have a debate between former Congressman from Texas, Charlie Stenholm and Barry Flinchbaugh, Professor Emeritus, Kansas State University. That should be not only an entertaining but thought provoking session. We’ve got sessions over several days on a variety of topics from photography to writing and you can find the schedule here on the website.
You can listen to me talk with Joann about the program here:
I’m a little behind on getting some items posted but hope to have some more new information on by the end of the week.
We realize that the registration system is complex so we have tried to make a few changes. Click here to see a simplified registration information page. Remember the early bird rates are only through March 31!
The latest and final version of the program for this year’s Congress is now ready for you to download and view.
Hello IFAJ members. How many of you are tweeting? If you are then follow IFAJ. You can find us online at 
The IFAJ Congress 2009 planning committee met for the last time face to face at the National Agri-Marketing Conference in Atlanta, GA today.
The program for the upcoming Ag Media Summit is really coming together. This is the program that takes place after the IFAJ Congress. Well, the two programs sort of overlap actually.