The NSW Farm Writers’ Association would like to invite you to our next instalment of Agribuzz.

Join us on Thursday 19th August to mingle with the up and coming minds in Agriculture and listen to Quirindi vet Tony Batterham, discuss his journey from a locum in the UK to consulting for leading feedlots and directing a number of veterinary companies.

Agribuzz is a smart-casual event in an intimate yet relaxed atmosphere that facilitates professional networking and provides professional development opportunities. Over drinks and canapés, our members and friends exchange business intelligence and views, enjoy brief presentations from key note speakers and take the rare chance to meeting agribusiness’s leaders or leaders-in–the-making.

Generously sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, Agribuzz will be held at the Hyde Park Barracks from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, Thursday 19th August.

Please pass this invitation on to friends or colleagues, particularly the younger members of your staff.

Agribuzz welcomes any professional working in, or with an interest in, the agribusiness sector.

Places are limited and bookings close 5pm Monday 16th August 2010, so book now.

Current event...

Who: Tony Batterham. Consultant veterinarian and Director Quirindi Veterinary Clinic What: Journey from locum to director Where: Hyde Park Barracks, Macquarie St, Sydney When: Thursday, 19th August 6:00pm to 8:00pm Bookings close: Monday 16th August

Next event: Is it time to kick off the shackles and get serious about GM? Monsanto speaks out.

While the world embraces genetically modifed crops (more than two billion acres of accumulated crop area) Australia has tip-toed into this game changing techology. Vocal opposition from the green movement and ambivalence from farmers have made Australia a GM laggard.

But as GM technolgy delivers leaps forward in conservation farming systems, drought tolerance and grain quality, and stacked genes in the US are pushing yields beyond the productivity curve, is it time for Australian farmers to kick off the shackles and get serious about GM ?

This month the head of Monsanto in Australia, Peter O'Keefe, makes the case for more GM crops in Australia and tells us about future GM innovations for agriculture. We will be asking him can the opponents of GM continue to slow down the introduction of the technology or will market demand become irresisitible.

Bookings close Monday 23rd August 2010, so book now.

Next event...

Who: Peter O'Keefe. Head of Monsanto in Australia What: Future GM innovations for agriculture Where: Accor Menzies Sydney Hotel When: Friday, 27th August Bookings close: Monday 23rd August

Media Release Excellence Award
Did you write the best media release on an agricultural or rural issue in 2009?

The Farm Writers’ Association of NSW Inc. is looking for the best media release that prompted or featured in editorial material published or broadcast during 2009. The winner will receive $500 cash and a certificate to mark their achievement. The deadline for entries is close of business Friday, 30 July 2010.

See the attached media release for further details on entry criteria.

Star Prize winner visits the Somme
Read Matt Cawood's musings on how WWI won't stay buried.

NSW Star Prize winner, Matt Cawood, flew into Belgium just before the airport closed and sent the following news from the IFAJ Congress:

After 30 hours of travel, I had no idea that Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano was emptying European skies of passenger jets when I landed in Brussels at 11.30am on April 15. At noon, the airport was closed. I was lucky: about 35 people who should have been attending the IFAJ congress in Belgium haven't made it, including three other Aussies I'd hoped to see here. Despite the air traffic chaos, some 130 delegates are in Ostend for the IFAJ Congress - including two Serbs who had driven 24 hours to get here.

A highlight to date has been a visit to the Floralies, the world's biggest horticultural show - 2.2 km of undercover exhibitions, all of them extraordinary examples of floral art. But the main appeal of the Congress is the conversation with people who bring their perspective of agricultural communications from all corners of the globe. The remarkable thing is that despite the multitude of languages and accents, the discussions about farming have a similar flavour: farmer profitability, accessing and using new technology, the splintering of farm lobby efforts. Farms and farming might be different across the world, but the issues are the same.

Watch for more news from Matt shortly.