AFBF leads Japanese visitors on a tour of the Big Apple.

The American Farm Bureau Federation played host to a delegation of Japanese reporters on assignment in New York in an effort to counter the misperceptions Japanese have about American food products. With sales of U.S. food to Japan holding at about $14 billion, the farm group wanted to help educate the Japanese media about the diversity and quality of American food. The journalists got a first-hand look at U.S. farm and food production through visits to local farms, a potato processing plant, a vineyard, a fish market, farmers' markets, gourmet produce stores and some of New York's finest restaurants. After the New York portion of the mission, the delegation traveled to New Orleans, Portland, Ore., and Billings, Mont. The reporters will then write a series of articles for Japanese readers about their experiences with U.S. agriculture and American fine foods.