Planning to attend the 2008 IFAJ congress in Austria and Slovenia in September? Then you need to make a booking within the next few days. The congress is close to selling out and bookings will close on May 15. Bookings can be made at www.ifaj2008.com

Because of technical difficulties, there is a risk that some people may not have registered properly for the 2008 congress. If you filled in a registration form online but did not pay online at the same time you may not be registered. If you have not received an email from the organisers confirming your registration please contact Verena Mayr at verena.mayr@ifaj2008.com immediately.

Bookings are already sold out for the 2008 pre-congress tour to Slovakia. Spokesperson Jana Janku says there was so much interest that a larger bus had to be found to accommodate a larger group than originally planned. The tour will start in Bratislava and incorporate both agricultural visits and sightseeing.

National guilds have until June 1 to select and enter a finalist to represent their country in the prestigious IFAJ Star Prize for Agricultural Journalism, sponsored by John Deere. The competition celebrates the best agricultural stories published during 2007. Entries can only be made by organisations affiliated with the IFAJ. The winner will be announced on September 1 via the IFAJ website and honoured during the 2008 IFAJ Congress in Austria/Slovenia. To find out more and read about previous winners click here.

For a preview of the upcoming International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) World Farmer Congress in Poland, view the latest edition of the WorldFarmer Newsletter.With the theme ÀúWorking together for profitability, sustainability and development', the 38th bi-annual congress will be held in Warsaw for the first time, from May 30 to June 6. The congress will attempt to address current challenges facing farmers, such as climate change, bioenergy, escalating food prices and shortages, food safety, animal welfare, and difficult world trade negotiations.

"Talk to the hand" is the theme for the 2008 ACE conference, run by the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences, in Traverse City, Michigan. For more information go to www.ace08.com

IFAJ members are invited to attend the Ukraine's largest agricultural exhibition, AGRO 2008, in Kiev. For more information visit the website and its press section, or contact project manager Alexander Bazeliuk, + 38 (044) 587 63 13, or email alex@agroexpo.com.ua

The New Zealand guild will celebrate its annual awards dinner during the National Fieldays at Hamilton on June 11, 2008. Agricultural journalists and communicators from around the country gather for the sell-out event which features the announcement of the Landcorp Agricultural Communicator of the Year. For more infomration contact Sue Edmonds.

"Hook, line and sinker: restock your communications tackle box" is the theme for the annual Institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Portland, Maine, U.S.A. For more information go to www.communicators.coop

The 10th conference of the Public Communication of Science and Technology (PCST) Network and the Swedish Research Council will be held in Sweden and Denmark. For more information go to www.vr.se/pcst

IFAJ members are invited to attend a major dairy summit in Scotland that will tackle the important issue of climate change and sustainable farming practices. Farmers from some 40 countries are expected to attend the event in Edinburgh, which is being organised by the International Dairy Federation UK and DeLaval under the theme, 'The Heat Is On'. Journalists interested in attending can register at www.eventsforce.net/idfdfs. Futher information for media is also available from Carina Kit at DeLaval, email carina.kit@delaval.com. Press room facilities will be available at the summit and media kits with key presentations will be provided.

The 10th anniversary Ag Media Summit will be held in Florida this year. The summit is a joint meeting of the American Agricultural Editors' Association (AAEA), Livestock Publications Council (LPC), ABM Agri-Council, Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) and Ag Relations Council (ARC). Find out more at www.agmediasummit.com

The IFAJ Presidium has appointed Connie Siemes from The Netherlands as its new part-time secretary. A regular at the IFAJ's annual congresses, Connie will provide a range of administrative and support services to the IFAJ and its members. Read more here.

The Finnish association for agricultural journalists has celebrated its 50th anniversary in style with an energetic program and special international guests. Riitta Mustonen captures the moment.

An Australian radio program recognised by the Guinness Book of Records is breaking new ground by leveraging the latest technology to stay relevant to its audiences across the continent after more than 60 years. National rural editor Leigh Radford explains how websites, 3G telephone links, geo-tag phones, blogs and podcasts enable a network of 75 specialist rural reporters to share their distinctly Australian stories on the air, on television and on-line with audiences at home and around the world in this special report.

And if you need more convincing after reading about the Australian experience, read this interesting piece by American Agricultural Editors' Association president John Walter who says that while content may still be king in this brave new world, how we package it and the skills that agricultural journalists and communicators need are rapidly changing. What do you need to be thinking about if you are going to meet the information needs of your audience when even farmers are citing that Google and E-Bay are their favourite websites, and you need to have blogging and audio/video recording skills, as well as writing and photography?

One of the most worthwhile benefits from being part of the IFAJ is the networks and friendships established with colleagues around the world. But even Greg Lamp was surprised at the results when he let a Norwegian colleague know about the pending visit of his Uncle Arnie. This heartwarming story is a must read.

Applications are being accepted now for the University of Guelph's graduate-level diploma in agricultural communications, the first of its kind in North America. Find out more.

Current graduates participating in the Canadian course learnt all about news conferences during a week-long residencyn. Canadian guild member and student Terry Stevenson writes about the experience.

Leading livestock photographer Columba O'Hare has become the first photographer to be elected to the Northern Ireland Guild of Agricultural Journalists committee. Read more about the annual meeting.

New Zealand agricultural journalist Tim Fulton will travel to England to examine the perceptions and realities of food miles for British farmers, retailers and consumers, after receiving a major award. Fulton is the recipient of a special travel award organised by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators to mark its 50th anniversary. Find out more here.

The Austrian guild is busy putting the finishing touches to plans for the 2008 IFAJ Congress in September. High profile speakers such as former EU Commissioner Franz Fischler are being approached to lead a special discussion on September 11 around the theme, 'Ag-journalists: Responsible to politicians, farmers, consumers or advertisers?' Participants will also have the chance to talk to the Austrian and Slovenian ministers of agriculture and presidents of the chambers of agriculture from both countries. If you were among IFAJ members who received special pumpkin seeds to help promote the event and have managed to grow a pumpkin, don't forget to send your pictures to Verana Mayr at verena.mayr@ifaj2008.com

In a follow-up to our special feature last edition on food security, Italian IFAJ delegate Lelio Bernardi provides this report from a recent meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, in Rome, which explored the world food crisis and the need for urgent action. Read the story in English or Italian. Eduardo Figueroa also provided this perspective in Spanish and English about a local program that is aiming to address food security issues in Columbia and is changing the lives of local farmers.

Journalists have until June 30 to enter the $15,000 Bastiat Prize, offered by London-based think tank, the International Policy Network. The prize is open to writers anywhere in the world whose published articles eloquently and wittily explain, promote and defend the principles of a free society. More than 280 people from 60 countries entered last year, with the prize going to Armit Varma, an editorial columnist for Mint, a joint venture between the Wall Street Journal and India's Hindustan Times. Click here for more details.

Budget cuts and no time to look ahead were the two main 'dangers' identified by respondents to a survey in the last IFAJ E-News, which posed the question "What dangers do you face in your work as an agricultural journalist or editor?" Read the full results and let us know what you think.

A story about ethanol's role in the racing industry, the long-term energy future of the U.S. and the benefits of renewable fuel won the award for persuasive writing in the annual National Agri-Marketing Association awards announced in April. The prestigious awards include categories for publications, media writing, public relations and advertising in the farm sector. All the award winners are featured in a special online edition of NAMA's magazine.

Experienced Eskilstuna-Kuriren photographer Bosse Dennemo has won the national photo contest run by the Swedish guild. A national prize for journalism has been awarded to Kerstin Porshed, who works at a daily newspaper, Blekinge Lˆ§ns Tidning, in southern Sweden. The prize winners were announced at the guild's annual meeting in Stockholm in March. The contests were sponsored by the Federation of Swedish Farmers and DeLaval.

Want to know how well your publication is doing in terms of reporting information accurately and how the people interviewed perceive the professionalism of your journalists? Then Association Press Managing Editors has a survey tool you might consider using. Read more about how it works in this special feature by Jim Evans.

Joe Zumalt continues his series of professional development features highlighting free online information resources for agricultural journalists. This time he tackles 'open' oriented websites and directories and how they can assist. Read more.