The IFAJ membership committee has received an application from Russia to join the IFAJ. National delegates will be asked to consider the application at the next congress in Japan. The IFAJ is also keen to hear from agricultural journalists in the new EU member countries, Bulgaria and Romania, committee chair Hans Siemes told the IFAJ Executive meeting in Berlin last week (January 17 to 20). Full reports from the meeting are available at www.ifaj.org.

What does 2007 hold in store for agricultural journalists and communicators around the world? In this IFAJ E-News special feature, five senior journalists and editors predict the issues likely to dominate headlines in the year head for Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia and the South Pacific.

Kyoto will be the starting point for the pre-congress tour in Japan. The tour will begin on September 14 and include visits to traditional gardens, temples and houses. The cost starts at 10,000 Yen, or 650 Euros. It includes three nights' accommodation and transport costs to Tokyo. Further information will be made available via the congress website. Spanish version.

Twelve months ago the IFAJ set up a pilot project to strengthen professional development opportunities for its members. The project involves a partnership with the highly respected international Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC), based at the University of Illinois in the United States. Read a review of how the pilot has worked so far.

The search engine Google is used the world over to search for all kinds of information on the world-wide web. But do you really know how to get the best from this invaluable research tool? You may be in for a big surprise. In this special inter-active article, produced as part of the IFAJ professional development program, Joe Zumalt shows us how.

Canada and the Canadian Farm Writers Federation (CFWF) will welcome IFAJ members for the first time in more than 40 years as hosts of the 2011 annual congress. The event will be held in the Guelph area of Ontario, about one hour west of Toronto, with pre and post-congress tours to other parts of the country. CFWF has named Owen Roberts and Lilian Schaer from the University of Guelph as co-chairs for the event. Owen is the IFAJ's Vice President of Professional Development and Education and a past president of CFWF. Lilian is president of the Eastern Canada Farm Writers' Association. For more information about the 2011 congress contact Owen at owen@uoguelph.ca or Lilian at lilian@uoguelph.ca. You can read more about Guelph at www.guelph.ca

The Czech Association of Agricultural Journalists (KZNP) has held a workshop on the myths and reality of central European agriculture, in cooperation with the Institute for Agricultural and Food Information. Lecturers from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic spoke about agriculture in their countries, rural development programs connected with EAFRD and future national agricultural policy. Participants included Czech journalists and state officers. KZNP plans to organize another workshop in Prague in autumn 2007.

For one week, IFAJ past president Paul Queck swapped his alarm clock in the United States for roosters and cow bells on a small dairy farm in Switzerland. Share his experiences.

The Swiss guild of agricultural journalists is holding a two-day event to mark their 50th anniversary. The former monastery of Ittingen, in the eastern part of Switzerland, will be the location for a laid-back mix of seminars, celebration and tourism experiences on June 1 and 2, 2007. "We would be happy to welcome many visitors from abroad, ' said president Adrian Krebs.For details in French, English or German, click here.

An important part of every IFAJ annual congress is providing journalists with the opportunity to gather material for stories about agriculture and agricultural issues in the country hosting the event. We featured a few in the last edition. Here is another, prepared by Polish journalist Anna Orzechowska.

Sign up before April 30 for the 2007 IFAJ Congress in Japan and qualify for early bird savings. Find out more about this exciting event and register online for less than 800 Euros.

Learn more about guild activities and agricultural issues in...
- Madgascar
- Ireland
- Britain
- South Africa

Journalists and photographers around the world are invited to enter the prestigious annual IFAJ Star Prizes. Entries close May 1, 2007. Find out how to enter, in English or Spanish.

The IFAJ Executive met in Berlin from January 17 to 20, as part of Green Week, to consider proposals for improved services and future activities for members around the world. A full report is available at www.ifaj.org. Or take a 'first-hand' look at Green Week and IFAJ events through the eyes of U.S. delegate and blogger, Chuck Zimmerman.

In our last edition, we asked readers to participate in our first online survey. We asked agricultural journalists to identify the issues that affect them most. Getting your stories published, limited career opportunities and low salaries all rated highly. But time pressures and freedom of speech were also raised. Check out the results.

A international calendar of key meetings and events has been put together by the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP). Access the calendar on-line here.

Learn more in English or German about this special production celebrating 50 years of IFAJ members reporting on agricultural issues around the world. Copies are free for IFAJ members.