NAAJ NextGen/Young Writer Winners - 2023
This NEW category is specifically tailored for our active members age 35 and under during the contest year. Entries in this category can be on any agricultural and food topic. Note: THREE stories are to be submitted as a single entry. Stories may be entered separately in other writing categories.
Number of entries: 14
Judge: Nancy Dorman-Hickson — After almost twenty years as a Southern Living and Progressive Farmer magazine editor, Nancy Dorman-Hickson, a Mississippi native, now freelances in Birmingham, Alabama, for magazine, web, and public relations clients. She is a contributor in an upcoming anthology titled All Night, All Day: Life, Death, and Angels, co-authored Diplomacy and Diamonds, the memoir of Joanne King Herring. A former desk editor for the Daily Times Leader, her in-progress memoir draws on stories from her rural childhood to find answers to present-day questions about faith, loss, and living in today’s divided world.
Comments about the competition: There were quite a few entries that could have risen to the top of the competition. It was difficult to decide on only three plus an honorable mention based on the submissions. Agricultural journalism is in good hands, based on these 35 and under participants who exhibited skill in reporting, language, and a clear understanding of who their readers are. Each covered tough topics, along with human interest subjects, in an engaging and thoughtful manner.
FIRST PLACE — Chelsea Dinterman, Successful Farming
Dive In? Skepticism regarding carbon markets reigns among farmers — April 2022
Blooming Biologicals: Ancient technology fits into modern agriculture — August 2022
Judge’s comments: Baywatch: In concise language, this writer clearly connects East Coast farmers and lessons learned to Midwest farmers. Booming Biologicals: Again, the writer uses superb writing and reporting skills to explain a technical subject in an engaging way. Dive in?: Objectivity and factual information, coupled with nitty-gritty how-to information as well as informative quotes, made this piece on carbon markets stand out.
SECOND PLACE — Elizabeth Elkin, Bloomberg
Cows Are Too Stressed Out to Keep Up With Global Dairy Demand — 1/28/2022
Soaring Fertilizer Prices Are About to Increase the Cost of Food — 3/2/2022
Can the World Feed Itself? Historic Fertilizer Crunch Threatens Food Security — 5/1/2022
Judge’s comments: Compelling journalism about man-made nutrient shortages and its effects that reads almost like a movie plot — with no happy ending guaranteed.
THIRD PLACE — Gabriel Pietrorazio, Civil Eats
Meet the Group That’s Been Bringing Bison Back to Tribal Lands for 30 Years – 7/26/2022
Native Farmers Push for More Equitable Training and Support in the Farm Bill — 11/1/2022
This Mother-Daughter Team is Sharing Food Traditions from the Ho-Chunk Nation — 11/27/2022
Judge’s comments: In lyrical language with substantial quotes and facts from a variety of sources — sprinkled with intriguing, cultural references — this writer gives readers a glimpse into tribal agriculturalists and how farming and food issues affect them.
HONORABLE MENTION
— Grey Moran, Civil Eats
Beginning Farmers, Farmers of Color Outbid as Farmland Prices Soar – 3/10/2022
In the Battle Over Right to Repair, Open-Source Tractors Offer an Alternative — 4/27/2022
Agrihoods Offer Fresh Food and Community. Can They Add Equity to the List? — 10/14/2022
Judge’s comments: In this trio of articles, this writer provides a strong voice to those who might be considered non-mainstream agriculturalists. With enlightening quotes and clear-eyed reporting, the writer outlines each issue and its effect in a way that appeals and provides insight.