Marketing communications specialist and Guild deputy chairman Jane Craigie (front row, fourth from left) was among 200 or so journalists and broadcasters from around the World at the IFAJ Congress 2012 in Sweden- visit the congress web page for more news of British participation.
Jane opted for the ‘meat tour’, one of several optional visit programmes to farms and other rural businesses.
“We visited the Stenhammer Estate south west of Stockholm, where the Swedish rural affairs minister Eskill Erlandsson joined us for lunch,” reports Jane. “The estate was donated to the Swedish State in 1903 and as part of the agreement, the estate’s leaseholder is King Carl XVI Gustaf, the Swedish monarch.”
Lunch was provided by Scan, the Baltic meat company that operates in nine countries and has its head office in Finland.
“We learned that Scan is about to launch a rapeseed pork product,” says Jane. “The pigs are fed rapeseed oil and the meat is 30% lower in saturated fat; Scan marketing people expect it to command a 20% premium, with value being gained by all players in the supply chain.”
Similarly informative visits with sponsor support need to be set up for the 2014 congress being hosted and organised by the British Guild in north-east Scotland.
Team GB at the IFAJ 2012 congress (from left): Jane Craigie, Tim Price, Ali Lea, Joe Watson, Howard Venters, Lizzie and Adrian Bell. Aly Balson was elsewhere at the time.
Guild treasurer and NFU Mutual communications executive Tim Price, pictured below on a farm producing milk and cheese from a large herd of goats running loose in the woods, thoroughly enjoyed his first experience of an IFAJ Congress.
“I didn’t know what to expect but it was a great opportunity to meet fellow journalists and communicators from all over the world in a very relaxed atmosphere,” he says. “I’ve come back with some excellent contacts, new friends and ideas.
“There’s no doubt that hosting a Congress – as we will in 2014 – is a good opportunity to promote Great Britain agriculture and ourselves as journalists and communicators,” he adds. “Whether you work as a journalist or in PR, it’s a no-brainer to get involved and reap the benefits of being with fellow agri-hacks from all over the world.”
