Editors' Notebook

We always enjoy sharing on our digital properties some of the big special packages that are carried in Progressive Farmer. The coming weeks are a great example of that. You've probably already seen some of the features from the Voices for Agriculture package that ran in the magazine's August edition.

The issue celebrated individuals, or sometimes with others in an organization, who have been advocates for agriculture in different ways.

We'll also be highlighting some of the latest in seed-selection ideas from the September issues special package on those subjects.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised when friend and colleague Gregg Hillyer, the magazine's Editor in Chief, proposed adding a Voices for Agriculture package to the late-summer 2024 lineup almost a year ago. It would be almost harvest season, I recall thinking. The country would be heading into what would likely be a contentious presidential election period. Not that celebrating farming's voices isn't a valuable cause, but why -- to quote a line from the red rocker Sammy Hagar with Van Halen -- "Right here and now??"

Surely, there would be pithier, harder-hitting subjects to devote copious amounts of magazine pages toward?

It's Gregg's magazine, was my next thought. Let's roll with it.

Side note: Back when Gregg and DTN Associate Content Manager Elaine Shein began outlining what would become what we hope is the first of many Voices for Agriculture issues, we had no idea just how contentious things would become.

Turns out that package, and its timing, was EXACTLY what the farm world needs right here and now. If you know Gregg and the experienced, deft finger he has on the pulse of American agriculture at all, that shouldn't surprise you.

It was certainly a welcome breath for our reporting staff, who spend most days covering policy battles and legal issues, herbicide damage and weather-driven crop failures, financial woes and missed commodity pricing opportunities. Important things, but not always a lot of fun.

Listening to the staff talk about their interviews, their research, the new things they discovered while writing these features, was a little like eavesdropping on your kids after a particularly plunder-laden Christmas morning.

In fact, as Elaine noted in her "We'd Like to Mention" piece in the August issue (see here: https://www.dtnpf.com/…) the process of nominating and culling through the many strong voices out there was fun and enlightening all in itself.

We hope these features are that welcome breath of fresh air for you as well. They're a reminder that even in contentious times, good people care about agriculture, take their spot in the feeding and clothing of the world seriously, but not too seriously, and take the time to do and say things that put this industry in a positive light.

One of the benefits of these digital pages is they're not finite like paper. So, we'll be running expanded versions of the stories that ran in the magazine, sharing even more of what these individuals have done for the industry on which we all depend.

Thanks to Gregg, Elaine and all the DTN staff who participated in bringing those stories to us. If I can dare speak for an industry, heck a whole nation, for a moment: We needed this.

Please watch for those stories under the Voices for Agriculture title in the coming weeks.

To listen to a podcast hosted by Sarah Mock where Elaine and her talk about how DTN selected this year's Voices for Agriculture, who they are and some of the tips on being a Voice for Agriculture, go to E205: "Celebrating Voices for Agriculture" at https://www.dtnpf.com/…

To see some tips on becoming a Voice for Agriculture, which includes advice from some of the people we selected, see https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Greg D. Horstmeier can be reached at greg.horstmeier@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @greghorstmeier

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