NAAJ Column Winners - 2022
Category description: Entries in this category allow the writer to express personal observations, humor or feelings on a topic in what may be considered a conversation with readers. Note: ONE column is submitted as a single entry.
Number of entries: 25
Comments about the competition: I really enjoyed reading these columns and learned a lot while I was at it.
Judge: Patricia McNeely — Taught writing and reporting at the University of South Carolina before retiring in 2006. Previously reporter, editor and columnist for The Greenville (S.C.) News, The (S.C.) State and The Columbia (S.C.) Record
FIRST PLACE — Elaine Shein, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Editors’ Notebook: My Farming Father is Called Home — 7/28/2021
Judge’s comments: What a beautiful and moving tribute to a 90-year-old farmer who was separated from his family during the last year of his life because of the pandemic.
SECOND PLACE — Chris Clayton, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Details, Conversations Needed on Biden’s 30x30 Plan — 4/6/2021
Judge’s comments: Well-written article about the meaning of President Biden’s plan to conserve 30 percent of our land and water by 2030. In clear and compelling language, the author describes the concerns of stakeholders who’re calling the proposal the “30 x 30 land grab.”
THIRD PLACE — Pamela Smith, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Gender Talk From the Turn Row — 3/8/2021
Judge’s comments: Interesting article about the problems encountered by a woman still fighting gender bias after 44 years in agricultural journalism. She began her career by struggling to attend all-male vocational education classes and the FFA in school, but even after all these years, her fight has never ended.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
— Laura Rance, Winnipeg Free Press (Glacier Farm Media)
Building community in the Information age — 12/18/2021
Judge’s comments: interesting column about changes in the way farm families get information and news.
— Gregg Hillyer, DTN/Progressive Farmer
We’d Like to Mention: One less Christmas Card — December 2021
Judge’s comments: Christmas traditions on a dairy farm bring back treasured family memories.
— Todd Hultman, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Todd’s Take: New Trade Challenges for U.S. Ag — 3/1/2021
Judge’s comments: An important discussion of the long-term challenges facing U.S. agricultural trade with China.
— Mary Kennedy, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Cash Market Moves: What to Hoard in 2021, and It’s Not Toilet Paper — 7/19/2021
Judge’s comments: Well written article about shortages that may be looming on the horizon, including flour, pasta, oatmeal and beer.
— Elaine Kub, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Kub’s Den: High Fertilizer Prices – The History and Future — 12/15/2021
Judge’s comments: What an unusual and interesting article about the history of changes in fertilizer since the days of bird poop.