The @Agri
Blogger and @FarmPodcaster (aka Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman) had the opportunity to visit Expo Milano 2015 in Italy during September with New Holland Agriculture and farmers and ag journalists from around the world. The Expo is the current version of the World’s Fair. This was Chuck’s third visit as part of the New Holland Expo sponsorship. The New Holland “Heroes and Bloggers Days” included nine of the ten farmers chosen by the company to represent agriculture in their “Seeds of Life” series display at the Sustainable Farm Pavilion at the expo. The farmers came from Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Russia, and South Africa – with two fro
m Italy. (Cindy and Chuck in front of the New Holland Sustainable Farm Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015.) “It was such a great opportunity to see the similar challenges farmers face around the world,” Chuck said. “Nearly all of them said that, just like here in the United States, they are unappreciated and even vilified by the non-farming public in their homelands.” The event included a chance to interact with the farmers and journalists from their respective countries, visit the expo, and enjoy some great Italian wining and dining. Chuck and Cindy interviewed most of the farmers and did features about them on AgWired.com. (At left, Chuck interviews Zimbabwe farmer Gerry Manuel, one of the New Holland Heroes campaign farmers.)
After it was over, Chuck and Cindy headed to Florence and the Tuscany region of Italy where they visited a “lovely” vineyard and winery in Chianti for lunch and a tour. “That was the most relaxing part of the trip,” said Chuck, who really appreciates a fine Black Rooster Chianti. “We had the chance to sample several top notch wines and order some to be shipped home.” The trip concluded with a visit to Rome, which is one of the couple’s favorite cities. Unfortunately, they were not able to see the Pope, who left for Cuba the day they arrived, but Cindy headed off to DC the next day so she could see him there and get the papal blessing on a bag full of religious articles they bought in Rome. Two days after returning from Italy, Chuck headed to Canada for the Canadian Farm Writers Federation meeting, and in mid-October the two will be traveling to New Zealand and Australia with the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ).
