Editors' Notebook

OMAHA (DTN) -- Several times a week, DTN/Progressive Farmer's team hold meetings to discuss what stories people are working on. It ranges from what farmers are reporting on crop conditions, events happening that day or week, what reports will be released, or even what are long-term trends or issues we should write about. We talk about marketing trends, weather outlooks, important production practices and even technological advancements to follow or explain to our audience.

Then something happens that throws those plans (temporarily) out the window. A new Executive Order signed in Washington. A huge wildfire explodes somewhere. A devasting hurricane churns its way through the southeast. A bridge collapses at an important American port.

We're constantly re-evaluating the best way to use our staff and resources to provide magazine and online/satellite content that is useful, relevant and timely for our audiences.

As I sit in my cubicle in our Omaha office, this slogan is on the wall behind me: "The world's farmers and agribusinesses are feeding the world and we are there, helping them be more productive and profitable."

It's a constant reminder of what we decide to do on DTN and in Progressive Farmer, and why we do it.

Yet, there are times our team gets to celebrate what we accomplish, such as when our work receives award recognition from our peers.

Recently, our teams celebrated success in a couple of prestigious awards competitions for our work in 2024.

DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins received one of the most prestigious awards from the North American Agricultural Journalists association: He was honored as Journalist of the Year at the awards banquet at the National Press Club in Washington. Jenkins received the highest number of points following first and third places in the Photojournalism category, second in the Technical category, and first in the Column or Blog category.

"The competition for Journalist of the Year is very tough, this is the best in the ag press," said DTN Editor-in-Chief Greg Horstmeier. "The way Jason won it, with top awards in photography, technical crops writing, and in the more first-person column categories, shows what a complete journalist he is. We're very proud to have him on this team. Crops coverage is so important to DTN customers and readers, and Jason takes that coverage seriously. So, to get this recognition from his peers is super special."

Even more special was Jenkins looking forward to sharing the news of the award with his 96-year-old grandfather who had farmed until he was 80 and is still involved in agriculture.

NAAJ is a professional group of agricultural editors and writers with membership in the United States and Canada; the organization promotes the highest ideals of journalism and agricultural coverage.

This year's DTN/Progressive Farmer winners at NAAJ were the following (including links to see the majority of the entries, along with the judges' comments on first-place winners):

-- Special Project: Rays of Hope: Shedding Light on Rural Mental Health Challenges, by Anthony Greder, Todd Hultman, Katie Dehlinger, Mike Watkins, Dave Vrbas, Pamela Smith, Todd Neeley, Lance Woodbury (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

Judge's comments: "This entry devotes an entire issue of Progressive Farmer to an enormous public and private health crisis: mental illness in rural America. Getting victims of this malady to talk to a reporter was difficult, but the writers for this magazine and DTN did this with skill. They covered many facets of mental health challenges and kept the reader turning pages with concise, vivid accounts."

-- Editorial: It's Time to Take the Sodas out of SNAP, by Urban C. Lehner (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

Judge's comments: "The writer clearly states the issue and does a solid job laying out the arguments and offering a practical solution that should -- or at least might -- satisfy the various parties while tackling the problem of obesity in a commonsense way."

-- Photojournalism: Hybrid How-To: The Secrets to Growing Seed Corn, by Jason Jenkins (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

Judge's comments: "Exceptional drone camera tech made this entry a clear winner. Photos from seed harvesting to processing images were well planned."

-- Columns or Blogs: Production Blog, by Jason Jenkins (Package of three blogs)

Weed-killing Robot Dog Could Become a Farmer's Best Friend

(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

Down to the Last Drops? First Dicamba Cutoff Date for Soybeans Has Arrived

(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

Spooky Spots on Fall Decor Post Potential Issue for Corn Farmers

(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

Judge's comments: "Succinct, tight writing that is well-sourced, with links provided to related articles. The columns are full of technical details with a bit of wit when not dealing with the technical aspects of the reporting. A valuable column to commercial farmers."

-- Editorial: Cash Rent Reset in 2025? by Gregg Hillyer, (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…

-- Photojournalism: Up, Up and Away: Spraying drones have grown from novelty to necessity for some farmers, by Joel Reichenberger (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

-- Spot News: Texas Wildfires Reach 1 Million Acres, by Elaine Shein, Mary Kennedy, Jennifer Carrico (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

-- Technical: Stomp on SCN Yield Losses: Take SCN management beyond egg counts with an HG type test, by Jason Jenkins (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

-- Photojournalism: Know All Your Numbers: Take SCN management beyond egg counts with an HG type test, Jason Jenkins (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

-- Column or Blog: Russ' Vintage Iron, by Russ Quinn (Package of three columns)

South Dakota Farmer Searches for Dad's Super M Vintage Tractor

(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

Nebraska Farm Family's Red Tractor Collection Grew From Just One Tractor

(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

Big Life Changes in the Family Lead to a Bittersweet Tractor Reunion

(https://www.dtnpf.com/…)

-- Ongoing Coverage or Series: How the Baltimore Bridge Collapse Affected Agriculture, by Mary Kennedy, Russ Quinn, Dan Miller (Package of six stories)

-- Ongoing Coverage or Series: Texas, Oklahoma Wildfires, by Elaine Shein, Mary Kennedy and Jennifer Carrico (Package of nine stories)

-- Feature: Small Differences, Big Opportunities. Three young entrepreneurs created new revenue streams for their farming operations, Katie Dehlinger (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

-- Profile: Farmers Strike Carolina Gold, Des Keller (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

-- Photojournalism: To Diversify, Just Add Water, Des Keller (https://bncentryassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/…)

To see the full list of NAAJ winners, go to https://www.naaj.net/….

DTN also had multiple finalists in the Jesse H. Neal Awards, recognized by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). The awards are described on its entry website as "the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism" and were held last month in New York City. DTN didn't win, but to be a finalist is impressive in the awards often called the Pulitzers of business journalism. It's open to editorial and design staff of specialized media companies across the country.

"We expect the team to do well among our fellow ag journalists, but the Neals are another matter," said Horstmeier. "We're competing against the best in the broader business journalism world, and there is some incredible talent out there. We've now in a multi-year string of having one or more finalists -- and often winners -- in this competition, which demonstrates the consistency of our efforts and the depth of the bench of the whole team, from reporters to designers to columnists and editors."

In our brand revenue category, the three DTN finalists this year included:

-- Best Art Direction for a Cover: Progressive Farmer November Cover of The Pulse of Rural America, by Brent Warren, Barry Falkner

-- Best Single Issue of a Tabloid/Newspaper/Magazine: Progressive Farmer May issue, Rays of Hope: Shedding Light on Rural Mental Health Challenges, by Anthony Greder, Pamela Smith, Todd Neeley, Mike Watkins, Dave Vrbas, Todd Hultman, Katie Dehlinger, Lance Woodbury

-- Best Technical/Scientific Content: Stomp On SCN Yield Losses, by Jason Jenkins, Pamela Smith.

To see the full list of Neals winners for 2025, see https://siia.net/….

CELEBRATING AS A TEAM

Even though there might be one or two names on the award plaque or certificate, generally there were a lot more people involved behind the scenes from when that winning entry first was sparked as an idea to when it was assigned, analysis added, article written, edited, photographs/videos/or other images taken/created/developed, packaged and designed, laid out in a magazine or posted digitally.

Add the other staff in our organization who sell ads, market what we do, and even do social media to help people find our stories, and the finished product you see is the culmination of what a dedicated team does with its best effort to serve you -- our respected and appreciated audience.

We also rely heavily on our sources and industry connections who provide valuable viewpoints, insights, facts and context to our work.

Thanks to them, as well as to you -- the farmers, ranchers and others -- who give us feedback, story suggestions, ask tough questions, and even allow us to have boots on the ground on your farms, ranches and businesses. Thanks also for inviting us to attend your meetings, conferences, field days, product launches and other events.

Together, this is what makes us all part of a great winning team in agriculture.

Elaine Shein can be reached at elaine.shein@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @elaineshein

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