Swiss Federal Councillor Schneider-Ammann visits Agroscope
Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann visited the Wädenswil and Avenches sites in 2014. In Wädenswil he toured the biosafety greenhouse and was given an introduction to antibiotics-resistance research, as well as being made aware of links with the economy. In Avenches he was treated to a look behind the scenes at the Swiss National Stud, and learned a wealth of interesting facts about equine and bee research.
International Year of the Family Farm
2014 was declared the International Year of the Family Farm (IYFF) by the UN General Assembly. Agroscope was a Member of the Swiss Committee. At the national IYFF conference, the role of women on family farms was an important topic on which findings from an Agroscope study were presented. One of the highlights of the conference was the Farm-Women Dialogue, in which female farmers from Colombia, Chad, Myanmar and Canada talked at seven different locations in Switzerland above their lives.
3500 Visitors on the Open Door Days in Conthey
The 2014 edition of the Open Door Days celebrating 70 years of agricultural research in Conthey was a great success. Around 3500 visitors came on the weekend of 30-31 August in order to explore the 25 information stations set up for the occasion. Presentations and exhibitions took a lighthearted approach to highlighting Agroscope’s important work at Conthey on berries, medicinal plants, greenhouse crops, apricots and other crops of the Alpine region for the whole of Switzerland.
AgEng Congress 2014: Agricultural Engineering Ensures more Efficient Use of Resources
How does agricultural engineering affect humans, animals and the environment? And how can agricultural engineering be further optimised for the benefit of increased resource efficiency? These questions were investigated by around 350 people from science and industry at the Congress of the European Society of Agricultural Engineers, held for the first time in Switzerland from 6-10 July 2014, and with which event the Society celebrated its thirtieth anniversary.
