Latest news with #Germinal
Agriland
29-04-2025
- Business
- Agriland
Deadline looming for entries to National Dairy Awards
The countdown is on to the 3rd Annual National Dairy Awards anf farmers are being urged to get their entries in now. The deadline for entries to this year's National Dairy Awards is Monday, May 12, less than a fortnight away. So, if you plan on entering yourself or nominating someone else, organisers are advising you to act quickly and get your entry in now. The awards ceremony will take place at a gala black-tie ceremony at Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise on the evening of June 19, 2025. National Dairy Awards What has been described as 'the best night in the dairy calendar' celebrates the farmer, farm manager, dairy advisor, dairy vet and the dairy innovators. The awards recognise dedication and hard work of those working in the dairy sector. This celebration of excellence also extends beyond the farm to the artisan champions, the processors, the discussion groups and the industry leaders. The awards applaud dairy champions and act as a meeting place to bring the entire dairy eco-system together for a great night of celebration and recognition. So, if you are or you know somebody doing great work in dairy, now is not the time to be modest. You are encouraged to enter yourself or nominate an entrant in order to be recognised. Claire Bailey Archibald, area sales manager, Germinal presents the Germinal Responsible Dairy Grassland Manager of the year award 2024 to Martin Ryan, dairy farmer, Tipperary at the 2024 National Dairy Awards The entry will take less than an hour to complete but the awards organisers have said that it could be the best use of an hour of your time this year. Categories A large number of entries have already been received, but with 21 categories, there is an opportunity for everyone to participate. 'We particularly want to hear from our farmers and encourage them to enter one or more of the six farmer-focused categories: Biodiversity Dairy Farmer of the year; Tech Innovator Dairy Farmer of the year; Animal Health Dairy Farmer of the year; Sustainable Dairy Grassland Manager of the year; Young Dairy Farmer of the year; Dairy Farm Manager of the year,' a spokesperson for the National Dairy Awards said. The National Dairy Awards are a joint promotion of Agri Insider and Agriland and are sponsored by: AXA; Mullinahone Co-op; Munster Bovine; Germinal; IFAC; Calor; Chanelle Pharma; Cormac Tagging; Local Power; Kerry Dairy Ireland; Carbery Group; FRS Co-op; Green Acre Marketing; Lely; and PTSB.
Local France
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
Why the far north of France is more than just a place to pass through
You've probably passed through northern France at some point - whether it was on the Eurostar between Paris and London, or driving along the A16 or A26 - but you may not have taken the time to stop. The region, now known as Hauts-de-France after the map of France was redrawn in 2016, was previously known as the Nord-Pas de Calais and Picardie regions. The Nord-Pas de Calais area has historically been subject to cruel stereotypes, evoking images of rusting factories and rain-sodden terrain filled with locals who speak an unintelligible version of France. You may think that it has barely changed since Emile Zola wrote Germinal 140 or so years ago. That pretty brutal image isn't necessarily accurate. Except, maybe, the bit about the French. Let us explain, with our passnotes on the region and its people. Why they're called Ch'tis It's because of the way people who hail from this part of France speak. In fairness, it's not the most popular accent in France — in a 2022 study by French online dating service Meetic, the accent limped in fourth, behind Parisians in third, the second-placed south-east French and holiday favourites the south-westerners. The term first appeared during the First World War, in reference to the Picard accent of the northern French soldiers. It has a slurring quality – 'Ça va' is pronounced 'sha va', while words beginning with 'ch' often come with an unexpected t-prefix, so 'chien' becomes 'tchien'. Meanwhile, the word Ch'ti itself comes from how these soldiers would say 'It's you' – Ch'est ti. Hooray for Ch'tillywood L'Amour Ouf and En Fanfare have been box office hits, and garnered 20 César nominations between them. But they're just the latest in a long line of French – and Hollywood – hits filmed in the region. The pioneer was the 1993 version of Germinal, a tale of a 19th-century miners' strike. Despite the film's box office success, its coal-streaked, deep-shadowed, melancholy grit did not go down well with local officials, who feared its impact on the image of a struggling region they were desperate to rehabilitate. Fifteen years later, however, Danny Boon's Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks) – a comedy that made no bones about playing on regional French stereotypes – was received rather differently. Today, the area is something of a rising cinematic star – and, ironically, the grit and gloomy weather that it's often mocked for have worked in its favour. It's estimated that a third of all movies shot in the region have been filmed since 2013. It's also home to hit TV crime drama HPI, which has been remade in the US as High Potential. 'If we had filmed HPI in Brittany, the series would have been radically different,' the show's producer Pierre Laugier, Franceinfo. 'Hauts-de-France has a very strong visual identity. The investigations take place a lot outdoors, and we have identified a wide variety of settings in the region, which can evoke Anglo-Saxon or Scandinavian exteriors.' And Six Days' director Juan Carlos Medina said the industrial architecture of Roubaix and the atmosphere of the Dunkirk sea wall gave him 'the shot that sums up the whole film'. 'On one side, the sandbar, on the other, a Blade Runner-style building, the immense Arcelor Mittal complex. Paradise on one side, hell on the other.' You're not selling it that well... It's not all industry and rain, honestly. The day after the first episode of HPI was broadcast on TF1, the head of Pictanovo – a Tourcoing-based association whose purpose is to promote and support audiovisual and cinematographic production in the region told France info that he fielded, 'several calls from producers [saying], 'But actually, it's beautiful where you live!'' They're not wrong. Outside the old industrial areas, many of which are now worthy heritage sites (the Bassin Minier is a World Heritage site, where you can climb a 'black mountain'), you'll be charmed by gently rolling rural northern France, for all that it bears the scars of two World Wars. Bergues – where Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis was filmed – is genuinely pretty. Regional capital Lille has long been underestimated as a place to visit, live and work, but is finally getting the recognition it deserves. On the coast, Le Touquet, where the beautiful people of Paris once played, is art deco style writ large. The cobbled streets and historic citadel Montreuil-sur-Mer make it a must-see. Calais is much more than a place to catch a ferry. And Cap Blanc-Nez and Cap Gris-Nez, the Dunes de Flandre, and the Baie de Somme are all listed as Grand Sites de France. The Audomarois marshes have World Heritage status, and the Parque Natural Regional de Avesnois is a physical reminder of times past. Smarter than average A stereotypical Ch'ti is one thing – not helped, it has to be said, by the reality TV show Les Ch'tis – but around 100,000 students call this part of France home, during term time at least, and they attend one of seven universities or 24 engineering schools in the region. But, yeah, it's rainy There's no getting away from the fact that it rains a fair bit up north. It's not the coldest part of France, but its oceanic climate means that it has relatively mild, wet winters and cooler than French-average summers. Further inland, the chance of frost and snow increases. And it can be windy, too.
CBS News
13-02-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
3 top Chicago officials stepping down, days after Mayor Johnson warned of City Hall firings
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Days after Mayor Brandon Johnson warned that he would be hiring holdovers from prior administrations, three top city leaders announced they are stepping down. Johnson's office announced Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee will be retiring on April 15, while Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) Executive Director Jose Tirado "will be transitioning out of his position," without providing a specific departure date. Meantime, Civilian Office of Police Accountability Chief Administrator Andrea Kersten also announced her resignation on Wednesday. Rhee, who was appointed to her post in 2018 by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, oversaw the city's airports, and was leading an $8.5 billion renovation of O'Hare International Airport, including the addition of a new Global Germinal to replace the existing Terminal 2. "Throughout her decades-long career, Commissioner Rhee embodied the best of public service, and she has left an indelible mark on our airports and our city," Johnson said in a statement on Rhee's retirement. Johnson appointed Tirado as head of OEMC after taking office in 2023. Prior to that, he'd served as the agency's top deputy. He'd also spent more than 23 years with the Chicago Police Department before joining OEMC in 2022, rising to chief of the counterterrorism bureau. Johnson praised for helping oversee reductions in crime across the city, and for taking the lead on the city's hosting of the Democratic National Convention last August. "I wish him all the best in this next chapter as we look forward to building upon the progress we have made together," Johnson said. However, days earlier, Johnson had warned that he would be firing some top city leaders while speaking at a "Faith in Government" initiative at a South Side church, where he told the audience he wished eh "would have cleaned house faster" after taking office in 2023. The mayor said he "was trying to show Godly presentation" that he could work with holdovers from previous mayoral administration when he took office, and show that people "don't have to agree with me 100% to work within my administration." But the mayor said, in hindsight, "I wouldn't have done that." "If you ain't with us, you just gotta go. So now I'm in a position now where I'll be making some decisions in the days to come, because playing nice with other people who ain't about us, it's just a waste of exercise," he said. "So there's a whole bunch of people like, 'Oh, shoot. Who's about to get fired?' Well, you about to find out. Stay tuned." A source said Tirado submitted his resignation earlier this year, and will be taking a job with the Cook County State's Attorney's office. That suggests his departure might not be connected to the mayor's threatened firings. In a statement provided by Johnson's office, Tirado thanked his staff at OEMC, as well as the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Fire Department for their commitment to public safety. "I especially want to thank the 911 and 311 operators at OEMC, who are the first line of response to every public safety incident called into the City of Chicago. The importance of the work that they do cannot be highlighted enough," he said. Rhee also thanked her colleagues and staff at the city's airports "for their incredible dedication to public service." "I am eternally grateful for the opportunities that have been afforded to me and am extremely proud of the work that's been accomplished to move our City and our airports forward," she said in a statement provided by the mayor's office. Johnson has yet to comment on Kersten's resignation. Kersten, who oversaw the city agency that investigates shootings by Chicago police officers and allegations of police misconduct, said in a statement that "it has been a privilege to lead this agency in the service of all Chicagoans and I am incredibly proud of the transformative work that has been accomplished during my tenure."
