We’ve got lots of photos for your viewing pleasure in our online photo album. We had some problems with it and had to delete them and re-upload them this morning. We might have a few more to add too but I think you’ll find plenty to provide you with lasting memories.
Here’s the link to use for IFAJ Congress/Ag Media Summit photos:
All registrants to the IFAJ Congress 2009 received a great wild west souvenir to take home with them. These leather note pad holders were all printed with our names. We certainly hope you enjoy them.
If you attended this year’s IFAJ Congress for your first time I’d love to know your thoughts on meeting with fellow ag journalists from other countries. Did you find it helpful? What did you get out of the relationships you made?
I received this note from from our Janet who is coordinating the post-Congress Tours. If you have already sent your passport number to her there is no need to respond. There are only a couple of you who still need to respond, but it is very important!
Reminder: We need your passport number by June 20, if you have signed up for the South Texas tour following the IFAJ Congress. This is because one of the tour stops, the Port of Corpus Christi, has strict security procedures. In order to obtain security clearance prior to the tour, we need to submit visitors’ passport information immediately. Please e-mail this information to me dianej@flash.net or to Janet Hunter (who e-mailed you several days ago requesting this information).
Janet Hunter janet.hunter@farmcreditbank.com
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: Go to www.agmediasummit.com download your copy.
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 Agriculture http://www.usda.gov/factbook/
The Texas Department of Agriculture has a fact sheet online at http://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!
The latest and final version of the program for this year’s Congress is now ready for you to download and view.
Just click on this link: IFAJ Congress/Ag Media Summit Final Program (5.2MB pdf)
We hope you’ve got your registration in and are looking forward to a great event in Texas!
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 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…)
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.
You can download the latest pdf of the Post Congress Tours here: Post Congress Tours Document (pdf)
As a reminder click here to register for the IFAJ Congress:
Be sure to read everything and scroll down to the bottom for the buttons that will take you to the registration forms.
We are nearing the launch of the online registration and know that many of you are ready to get signed up. While you are waiting here are some registration fees if you register before April 1. Full registration will be $1,500 USD. This is for a single room (one person/one room) and includes 5 nights of hotel (starting Fri., July 31 through Tuesday night). If you choose to have a roommate the price goes down to $1,100 USD. The post-Congress tours will range from $550 to $750 for double occupancy. (single $750 to $950). We will be posting more details really soon but know that you want to see these numbers. Happy New Year to all!
This is going to be my first of many posts on this site as we continue to update you on all of the new and exciting events that will happen with next summer’s Ag Media Summit and IFAJ Congress. I’m writing this as a “test drive” as I learn from my excellent teacher, Chuck Zimmerman! Please feel free to participate and ask questions as we go through all of our planning stages. It’s going to be here before you know it.
Cheers! And stay tuned for much more to come!
Welcome To Texas
Fort Worth is home to the 53rd IFAJ Congress
Howdy y’all!
That means “welcome” in Texas. You had better get used to that greeting because you’ll hear it frequently at the IFAJ Congress in Fort Worth, TX, in 2009. This will be a one-of-kind Congress because IFAJ will be sharing some of the professional development programs that are planned for the U.S. Agricultural Media Summit (AMS).
Don’t worry, there will be plenty of IFAJ-only events, but we have a unique opportunity to capitalize on some excellent seminars and speakers that the AMS group is planning.
For example, there will be sessions on:
As with all Congresses, plan on seeing Texas up close. For perspective, Texas – known as the Lone Star State – is slightly larger than France.
During the meeting, we will have tours to family farms with a variety of agriculture products, and ranches with real cowboys. Plus, we’ll offer three, post-tours you won’t want to miss – trips that will take you to north, south and west Texas – each with unique looks at this vast state with infinite variety. Watch the web site for details on what tour each will provide, and for Congress updates.
Mike Wilson, Farm Futures and Greg Lamp, Corn and Soybean Digest
Congress Co-Chairs
A very exciting event will be held in Fort Worth, Texas. It’s the annual Congress for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) that will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Ag Media Summit (AMS). The last time the IFAJ Congress was held in the U.S. was in 1992 in the Illinois/Indiana region.
The dates for the joint IFAJ Congress and Ag Media Summit will be July 29 through August 5, 2009. The location is the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in downtown Fort Worth. We are expecting this to draw more than 200 international IFAJ members and guests.
On the 29th, our international arrivals will begin with the majority of the IFAJ activities taking place on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, August 2, the two events will “blend” and the IFAJ delegates will start to take part in the AMS activities. The AMS basically stays on a similar schedule with the big welcome party on Sunday night followed by our usual schedule of workshops on Monday and Tuesday. The grand opening of the InfoExpo will also take place on Monday afternoon and extend through Tuesday, just like it does now. The Congress always ends with a big send-off party on the final night and we will adhere to this tradition and incorporate our awards functions into the biggest party this event has ever seen! Officially the event will be over Wednesday morning August 5th, although that day the post-convention tours will begin. (more…)