Blog Award Winners 2021
Category description: Entries in this category can be on any agricultural topic posted by one writer and updated regularly. A blog can include various writing styles but is clearly aimed at educating readers with the writer’s insight and expertise. Three blog posts are to be submitted as a single entry. Number of entries: 14
Judge’s comments on the category: Seasoned print writers need to make some adjustments to make their blogging stand out. It's a different breed of animal from hard news and even feature writing – more akin, sometimes, to a personal journal or even a diary. Readers expect more than straight news and information, valuable though that may be.
Many of this year's entries provide just that: a tasty helping of solid information generously garnished with insights into the writers' sure-handed understanding of agriculture and the menu of issues that nourish it. As I was reviewing the 14 entries, each with three samples, I was listening for voices that stood out from the competent and knowledgable crowd.
The four I've singled out for awards each have that distinctive voice. They're very different. One is rather relaxed, comfortable and more personal. Another ponders the deepest lessons of the pandemic era, connecting them with the value of the dependable food supply. A third ties urgent lessons – of farm safety, of economic decisions – to personal experiences that illustrate them and give them unmistakable impact. And another brings distant global factors close to home. I enjoyed the whole category of entries again this year. After handling the same category in 2020, I recognized some voices and can see some real growth in the confidence with which their authors attack this new, sometimes-challenging and often-fun form of communication.
—Judge: Nancy Edmonds Hanson — Freelance news writer. Former reporter, The (Fargo, N.D.) Forum. Journalism teacher, Minnesota State University.
1st Place: Ed White
The Western Producer
— Percy and me — 10/7/2020
— Resiliency is a great idea, until you have to pay for it — 11/26/2020
— 2020: The year food mattered — 12/20/2020
Judge’s comments: A successful blog is more than a string of hard-news stories and reports ... and more than personal observations and conclusions, Ed White's pieces manage to combine all three in authoritative, yet personal posts that are deeply informative, well-grounded and interesting. His observations on the importance of our reliable food supply in times of unanticipated challenge are among the best I've seen. His firsthand account of the background of "Percy" adds deeper context to easy assumptions about the film.
2nd Place: Pamela Smith
Production Blog
DTN/Progressive Farmer
— Time to Take Care of Your Personal Condition — 3/27/2020
— A Sort of Serious Love Story — 4/13/2020
— To the Field With Food and Love — 10/16/2020
Judge’s comments: Pam Smith's distinctive posts — humorous and humane — provide an excellent example of what a successful blog can provide its readers. She has an eye and ear for the moments that make everyday life special — from pandemic paranoia and an earworm that unexpectedly sums up the moment to her warm account of bringing lunch out to the field. Strong writing, big heart.
3rd Place: Matthew Wilde
DTN/Progressive Farmer
— Time to Trade? — 3/31/2020
— Life Automatically Moves Forward — 5/15/2020
— Don't Sacrifice Safety for Speed During Weather Delays — 11/3/2020
Judge’s comments: Matthew Wilde brings very personal experiences into subjects that have much broader appeal to his readers. His account of how his father resisted change — yet change is inevitable — is instructive and yet (by the end) forgiving. His account of nearly losing his life gives extra vigor to the cautionary tale of how speed can kill. Well done.
HONORABLE MENTION
Urban Lehner, DTN/Progressive Farmer
An Urban’s Rural View
— Thoughts on Rat Restaurants, Wet Markets and Repressive Governments — 2/20/2021
— If Ever There Was a Time to Borrow Big, It's Now — 5/12/2020
— Beware of Chinese Bearing Seeds — 8/10/2020
Judge’s comments: Besides having a cool title for his blog, Urban Lehner's urbane (sorry) views of the economy and China's incursions into our headlines draw the reader into larger issues surrounded by some degree of mystery. His choice of topics and supportive research are intriguing and fresh.