DTN/Progressive Farmer Wins 33 AAEA Awards

DTN staff continues to lead as the most-awarded newsroom in agriculture.

Minneapolis, MN (December 3, 2020) – The DTN/Progressive Farmer newsrooms continue to earn the title of “most awarded newsroom in agriculture.” Recently, the teams won 33 awards in the Ag Communicators Network annual awards contest. The team won several first-place awards and swept several categories, winning all awards in those categories. DTN/Progressive Farmer received awards in a variety of categories: best writing, photography, design, marketing communications, photography and digital and social media content.

The Ag Communicators Network is a professional association for agricultural editors, writers, photographers, designers and other ag communications professionals in the United States and Canada.

The DTN team swept the Breaking News category in the writing division, winning all three awards.  The category recognizes the best in first day, breaking news coverage and is judged on news value, immediacy of the story and ability to write well under tight deadlines. The team also swept the blogs category (publishing) and the photography category.

“Our newsroom colleagues work hard to deliver agriculture’s most pressing stories quickly and accurately,” said Grey Montgomery, senior vice president-agriculture at DTN. “These awards are a testament to their dedication to excellence in reporting and their deep knowledge of agriculture and the stories that matter to farmers and agribusinesses.”

DTN/Progressive Farmer also won awards this fall in the Livestock Publications Council annual awards competition. The Council is an international organization serving the livestock communications industry.

For more information on DTN or to access our newsroom content, visit www.dtnpf.com.

 

DTN/Progressive Farmer AAEA Awards Summary

Breaking News Category

1st – DTN Staff Reporter Emily Unglesbee for “Ag Research in Limbo”

2nd – DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton for “Eyes on China and Tariff Hike”

3rd – DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger for “China, US Announce Trade Deal”

“This was not a topic I had thought of being affected during this pandemic time. It was a well-researched article and gave real-time examples and explained what impacts crop research could have in 2020,” one of the judges said of Unglesbee’s story on how university ag researchers were forced by COVID-19 lockdowns to set aside research and re-evaluate what is essential.

Blogs Category (Publishing)

1st – DTN Farm Business Editor Katie Dehlinger for “Minding Ag’s Business”

2nd – DTN Editor Emeritus Urban Lehner for “An Urban’s Rural View”

3rd – DTN Crops Technology Editor Pamela Smith for “Production Blog”

Judges praised the DTN/PF winners for their work.  “Blogs are built around informative topics relative to the ag audiences with subject matter presented in a way that anyone can understand,” one judge said of Dehlinger’s winning entry.

“I like that your blogs are focused on specific and current events. You explain in a way that I think helps readers understand the issues and the processes involved in resolving the issues,” a judge said of Lehner’s blogs.

Photography (picture story/photo sequence/photo essay category)

1st – Progressive Farmer Contributor Jim Patrico for “Highway to Husker Heaven”

2nd – Progressive Farmer Contributor Jim Patrico for “Clydesdale Heaven”

3rd – Progressive Farmer Senior Editor Joel Reichenberger for “Kansas Hay Convoy”

Patrico also won Photo of the Year honors with his “Sunset Spray” aerial photo of an irrigation field at sunset. “While there are many strong images to choose from in this category, this particular photo simply stands head and shoulders above the rest,” a judge said. “It’s a striking image that ticks all the boxes: simplistic, yet overwhelmingly captivating.”

Additional First Place Finishes

Regular Column: Progressive Farmer Editor in Chief Gregg Hillyer for “We’d Like to Mention”

Technical Feature: Progressive Farmer Crops Editor Matt Wilde for “Smarter Imagery”

Overall Magazine Design – Special Issues: Progressive Farmer Art Director Brent Warren and Progressive Farmer Production Manager/Editorial Barry Falkner