Fresh from Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, Minister for Trade and Climate Change Tim Groser will be among the key note speakers at next week's International Federation of Agricultural Journalists congress in Hamilton.

Up to 150 agricultural journalists from 30 countries will attend Congress 2015, hosted by the New Zealand Guild of Agricultural Journalists and Communicators, on behalf of the international federation.

Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy will be one of the keynote speakers at the conference. Photo: File.

Other keynote speakers include the Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, Jacqueline Rowarth from Waikato University, Ian Proudfoot from, KPMG, Ben Dalton from Ministry of Primary Industries, Rick Pridmore from DairyNZ, Simon Limmer from Zespri, Lukas Paravinci and John Monaghan from Fonterra, and Jeffrey Clarke from NZ Wine.

The full programme of activities includes visits to many farms, agribusinesses and research facilities around the region for the journalists from agricultural newspapers and magazines, radio, digital publications and blogs, and a couple of television programmes.

All are expecting to file stories from New Zealand about what makes New Zealand's farming systems so unique and world leading, the agricultural-related businesses so successful, and to experience wonderful food and wine.

So over the next couple of month, New Zealand's primary sector, particularly around Hamilton, will feature extensively in the world's agriculture media.

The congress runs from the afternoon of October 14, through until the morning of Sunday October 18.

There were a number of concurrent sessions on Friday morning, and among the speakers lined up were Sir William Gallagher, Warrick Cato from Ballance AgriNutrients, Bryan Graham from Scion, Jim Webster from AgResearch. Mark Goodwin from Plant and Food Research, and Andrew Fraser from DairyNZ. For relaxation, there has been a lot interest in a trip to Waitomo Caves today. For some, a personal highlight may be the tour and dinner at Hobbiton and the Green Dragon.

Chairman of the congress organising committee, Hugh Stringleman, says long-time members of the international; federation have repeatedly asked when the NZ guild could organise a congress.

'Many said a congress in NZ would fulfil a life-long dream to see first-hand the origin of NZ's reputation for primary production. With the help of sponsors and a hard-working local committee we have delivered a congress three years in the making, by a writers' guild of only 100 members.

'Helped by the fall in the value of the NZ dollar, delegates have come mainly from the UK, Scandinavia, Europe and North America, and Australia.

'Among them are a number of younger Asian and Eastern European journalists sponsored by Alltech and Du Pont Pioneer to attend a master class and Young Leaders classes in skills and agricultural reporting within the congress.

'IFAJ Congress 2015 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for NZ agricultural farmers, journalists and communicators to show off their country and their work-day passions.”

Part of the congress activities feature a pre congress and a post congress tour. The tour before the congress starts in Auckland, flies to Hawkes Bay, and then heads up to Hamilton via Taupo, Rotorua, Te Puke and Tauranga, visiting farms, vineyards, a meat processing plant, forestry and orchards, and some tourist activities on the way.

The post congress tour starts in Nelson, Marlborough, down to Kaikoura, Christchurch and then to Rakaia, again visiting farms, vineyards and orchards, Lincoln University. They will be visiting Doug Avery's Marlborough farm where he started a national movement for drought-proofing farms, and also visiting a high country merino farm.

Congress 2015, attracted about $200,000 in sponsorship and an additional $50,000 in kind. The family of sponsors for Congress 2015, are: DairyNZ, Fonterra, AGMARDT, NZXAgri, KPMG, Tourism NZ, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ministry for Primary Industries, Zespri, Ballance AgriNutrients, Gallagher, Horticulture New Zealand, Beef + Lamb NZ, Silver Fern Farms, AgResearch, Yealands Winery and Monsanto. Special thanks also to Jim Burns, Whittakers and PickMee Apples.