For the first time in over 40 years, Canada will be hosting the annual congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. The congress will be held September 14-18, 2011. The five-day event will start with delegates in the city of Guelph for a day and half, followed by two days of regional tours across Ontario that will end with everyone meeting in Niagara Falls on Friday evening followed by a final day of activities on Saturday.

Saturday, September 10 (Guelph)
Evening welcome event for Master Class and Young Leaders Boot Camp participants

Sunday, September 11 (Guelph)
Master Class and Young Leaders Boot Camp program – no other official program
Hotels: Delta Guelph, Best Western Royal Brock

Monday, September 12 (Guelph)
Master Class and Young Leaders Boot Camp program – no other official program
Hotels: Delta Guelph, Best Western Royal Brock

Tuesday, September 13 (Guelph)
Optional free day-long excursion: Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock
Dinner: Night at the races (Mohawk Raceway)
Hotels: Delta Guelph, Best Western Royal Brock

Wednesday, September 14 (Guelph)
Morning: IFAJ executive meeting, IFAJ general assembly/delegate meeting
Afternoon: Canada 101 – introduction to Canadian agriculture and issues
Evening: Welcome event – Taste of Canada
Hotels: Delta Guelph, Best Western Royal Brock

Thursday, September 15 (tours)
Tours begin, departing from Guelph. Tours will run three directions from Guelph, all ending on a different Great Lake, with one overnight stay enroute.

Lake Erie Tour
This tour heads to Canada’s southern-most community which is also home to the largest group of greenhouses in North America. Learn what drove this development. We’ll also learn why thousands of small solar installations are going up on Ontario farms, and visit with some farmers whose unique drip irrigation project ensures Ontario processing tomatoes keep pace with those in California. The over night destination will be Chatham, where we’ll learn how a unique program is bringing together Ontario’s two largest industries, automotive manufacturing and agriculture to use bioproducts in cars. A visit will be made to a winery on the way back to Niagara Falls the next day.Visit the tours page (www.ifaj2011.com/en/about-our-tours)  for more details.

Lake Ontario Tour
This is the iconic Canadian tour. Visit a bison farm, and have lunch at a maple syrup shack on your way to Prince Edward County, which has become a food destination. Visit an award-winning, environmentally conscious goat cheese factory, and a winery and cidery with spectacular views. The over night stay will be in Belleville, on Lake Ontario. Visit a unique research station for the unique Niagara Peninsula the next day on the way to Niagara Falls. Visit the tours page (www.ifaj2011.com/en/about-our-tours) for more details.

Lake Huron Tour
See Ontario’s agriculture heartland. Visit a top family farm apple producer and a local market. Then see leading Ontario dairy farms to understand Canada’s unique marketing system for milk. Visit an Ontario hog farm and find out about a leading Ontario program to manage disease outbreaks. Ontario grows a lot of corn, soybeans and wheat and we’ll visit a large grain elevator and processor to understand how those crops fit into the Ontario context. The overnight stay will be at a small resort town on Lake Huron, Grand Bend. Experience the unique microclimate of the Niagara Peninsula during a stop at a winery on the way to Niagara Falls the next day. Visit the tours page (www.ifaj2011.com/en/about-our-tours) for more details.

Friday, September 16 (tours, Niagara Falls)
Tours continue with all delegates arriving in Niagara Falls in the late afternoon.
Evening event: Oh Canada Eh?!? dinner theatre
Hotel: Marriott Gateway on the Falls (formerly Sheraton Fallsview)

Saturday, September 17 (Niagara Falls)
Morning: Professional development program:

Sustainability — are farm journalists getting the real story?

Farm journalists have covered the “Green Revolution” and other genetic improvements which have helped double world food production over the last 40 years. But have improved genetics compensated for flaws in our production system? And with farmers being called on to again double production by 2050, how can they do it, especially when it needs to be done sustainably? Are farm journalists paying enough attention to the soil, water, energy and human resources needed to meet the production challenge? We’ve assembled a group of speakers to address this question.

James Muir, professor emeritus, University of Stirling, UK — Keynote speaker

In January of this year, the UK Government Office for Science released “The Future of Food and Farming — Challenges and choices for global sustainability,” a report which is part of its “Foresight” program to encourage the government to think systematically about major issues for 20-80 years in the future. Professor Muir, one of the report’s authors, will outline its wide-ranging recommendations on balancing supply and sustainability, ending hunger and meeting the challenges of a low-emissions world.

Jill Clapperton, EarthSpirit Land and Resource Consulting

After a distinguished career as a soil ecologist with Agriculture Canada, Jill Clapperton is now living on a ranch in Montana and is principal of EarthSpirit Land and Resource Consulting. She is well know for her passion on soil health and ecology, and recognized for her innovative project to identify native and imported earthworm species in North America. Without healthy soil, the full potential of genetics cannot be realized. Jill Clapperton will address the question of whether farm journalists are getting “the real dirt” on soil health and its importance for long-term sustainability.

Kevin Perkins, executive director, Farm Radio International

Most farm journalists in the developed world work for print publications, read by tens of thousands of well-educated farmers with many private or public sources of farm extension information. But much of the challenge of ensuring food security lies with millions of African farmers with little or no access to publications and who may not be able to read or write. However, they can listen to radio. Farm Radio International, a Canadian NGO, works with 320 radio station partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, providing scripts, a news service and broadcaster training. Kevin Perkins will address the challenge of delivering knowledge of sustainable farm practices to smallholder farmers, many of whom are women.

Ricky Telg/Tracy Irani, University of Florida; Owen Roberts, University of Guelph

One of the purposes of IFAJ is to give members and opportunity to learn about agriculture in other countries. But so far, no formal research has been conducted to identify what journalists perceive as issues in their own countries, and how the information can be shared. In the next few weeks, Drs. Ricky Telg and Tracy Irani of the University of Florida, and Owen Roberts of the University of Guelph, will conduct an online survey of IFAJ executive members to identify the major in-country and global issues affecting agriculture, and to identify resources that can be provided and shared to all IFAJ members to assist them in covering major agricultural issues. Their findings will be presented in Niagara Falls.

Afternoon: Free time to explore Niagara Falls
Evening: Finale banquet
Hotel: Marriott Gateway on the Falls (formerly Sheraton Fallsview)

Sunday, September 18 (Niagara Falls)
Delegates depart Niagara Falls for home or post-congress tour(s).

For more information:

IFAJ 2011 Registration Committee: info@ifaj2011.com