As September draws to a close, we are reminded of how the month began: the visit of a fact-finding mission from Bavaria led by the 1st Vice Minister and Director General of the State Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism (StMELF). Among the topics explored, the most relevant ones were the digitalization of agriculture (#AgTech), drought resistance, the role of A.I., strategies for improved #climate_resilience (namely the threat of #wildfires), and #Foodtech. Thanks to California Secretary of Food and Agriculture Karen Ross and her team (especially Exec. Dir. Josh Eddy), State Assemblymember and proud former Munich resident Tasha Boerner Horvath, founder Dr. Oliver Zahn (Climax Foods), Entrepreneur Nick Halla, University of California, Davis, American Farm Bureau Federation, Bakar BioEnginuity Hub at University of California, Berkeley, #BearCreekWinery (Brandie Baumback), and countless others for making the visit a success. - James E. Mister
Honored to have Vice Minister and Director General of the Bavarian State Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, Hubert Bittlmayer in California this week. As #Bavaria expects a much hotter and dryer climate in the future, Vice Minister Bittelmayer and his delegation were keen to learn from California how to best address these challenges. Of particular interest was operational risk management as well as water management and new genome technologies. In Sacramento he met with Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath and Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Karen Ross. At an evening networking meeting with Consul General Oliver Schramm they were also joined by climate and sustainability entrepreneur Nick Halla.