NAAJ Column or Blog Winners - 2024
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: THREE columns or blogs are submitted as a single entry. Limit of ONE entry per entrant.
Number of entries: 16
Judge’s overall comments: The quality of entries was incredibly high and wonderfully diverse. Many writers addressed some of the biggest challenges facing farming and food production systems, others focused on discussing practical and innovative solutions, while several also concentrated on the social aspects of agriculture and rural life. The key thread that weaved throughout the submissions was the writers’ ability to clearly structure their views in a conversational tone that allowed them to move around their topics with authority, curiosity, humour, and emotion.
Judge: Claire Mc Cormack is a researcher in the field of Media and Agriculture at the School of Agriculture and Food Science at University College Dublin, where she is completing her Ph.D on the topic of Agricultural Journalism in Ireland over the last 50 years. She has strong credentials as an agricultural journalist, with extensive experience reporting on agriculture in Ireland’s national and agricultural media. She is a member of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists of Ireland and of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists.
FIRST PLACE — Lisa Foust Prater, Successful Farming
Walking My Own Path of Grief: Before losing my mother, I had no idea what grief really was —5/1/2023
2023 Reporter’s Notebook: On the road again with Lisa Foust Prater — 12/23/2023
Judge’s comments: The themes of family, community, and connection naturally flow through all three articles submitted by Ms. Foust Prater, who writes with an inspiring level of passion, honesty, and elegance about some of life’s most personal and challenging moments – from watching her three young sons graduate from farm life to college life, to the sudden passing of her cherished late mother, LaVerta Tilton Foust. The reader is left deeply moved, reflective, and grateful for the writer’s willingness to bring us along on her journey throughout the peaks and valleys of 2023 which take her back on the road again doing “the work I love.”
SECOND PLACE — Todd Hultman, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Just How Bad is the Economy? Here’s a Simple Stress Test — 2/10/2023
Are Russian Wheat Farmers Outcompeting the World or is Something Else Going On? — 9/15/2023
Has the Case for Ethanol Come Full Circle? —9/22/2023
Judge’s comments: Todd Hultman’s remarkable ability to effectively communicate highly technical information through very accessible personal observations clearly resonates in all three articles submitted by the writer. From navigating the discourse around the country’s economic conditions, to understanding the intricacies of Russia’s agricultural policy, to sharing a wide-lens view on the long-standing case for ethanol production, “Todd’s Take” repeatedly empowers readers to be part of these important national and international conversations.
THIRD PLACE — Gregg Hillyer, DTN/Progressive Farmer
A Fragile Food System — 1/1/2023
Cultivate a Data Crop — 6/1/2023
A Season for Gratitude — 12/1/2023
Judge’s comments: The strength of Gregg Hillyer’s submission is his ability to tackle vital national and international topics, assemble key facts and figures from multiple sources, and then deliver the content in a conversational style cushioned by brief personal reflections. From the monumental challenge of global food system security, to the promise of on-farm data collection technology and machine learning, Hillyer skillfully encourages his readers to engage with these big issues in a meaningful way that will resonate on their farms, in their communities, and at their kitchen table.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
—Ed White, The Western Producer
Agriculture sector blessed by researchers’ odd passions — 5/25/2023
Ghosts of Jewish farming past remain relevant — 10/26/2023
Agricultural archives can be a treasure trove of stories — 11/30/2023
Judge’s comments: Among the stand-out characteristics of Ed White’s submission is his distinctive ability to capture and connect with the reader through his selection of novel subject areas, delicate use of visual writing, and humorous anecdotes. From exploring the fascinating ecosystem of cow patties, , to reflecting on a unique period in Jewish and Canadian farming history,to breathing new life into forgotten agricultural archives, White succeeds in gently taking the reader by the hand and leading them right into the heart of different and lesser known stories.
— Jennifer Latzke, Kansas Farmer
The power of 4-H: If we want the next generation to choose rural Kansas, let’s use 4-H — 9/15/2023
It stops with me: Breaking generational behaviors in farm families, one butter tub, one bad habit at a time — 10/22/2023
Dishing up memories: Every dish on the table has a story at Thanksgiving — 11/17/2023