FIRST PLACE — Bennet Goldstein, Wisconsin Watch
Poopspotting: How AI and satellites can detect illegal manure spreading in Wisconsin (3/7/2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Daniel Walton, Ambrook Research
Rye Not Here?  (9/13/2024)

SECOND PLACE — Ilena Peng, Bloomberg
Chocolate Makers Try a New Recipe: Less Chocolate (2/29/2024)

THIRD PLACE — Chelsea Dinterman, Successful Farming
New Soybean Pest Defies Farmer Management (April 2024) 

FIRST PLACE — Darby Minow Smith, Ambrook Research
The Night Calver (May 17, 2024)

HONORABLE MENTIONS — John McCracken, Investigate Midwest
Early morning calls. Barren chicken barns. Millions in debt. (5/8/2024)

Katie Dehlinger, Progressive Farmer/DTN
Small Differences, Big Opportunities. Three young entrepreneurs created new revenue streams for their farming operations (April 2024)

Jennifer Latzke, Kansas Farmer / Farm Progress
Helping veterans heal, one beehive at a time  (5/29/2024)

Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
To revitalize rural communities, this group looks to food tourism to tell the story behind what we eat (9/11/2024)

SECOND PLACE — Grey Moran, Civil Eats
On Farms, ‘Plasticulture’ Persists  (6/5/2024)

THIRD PLACE — Lisa Foust Prater, Successful Farming
Island Agriculture: Washington Island, Wisc., is a popular day trip for Door County visitors, but beyond the tourist attractions, a rich new culture of sustainable agriculture is growing  — (January 2024)

FIRST PLACE — Noah Wicks, Agri-Pulse
Farmers, bankers press House Ag for new farm bill while warning of rural economic downturn   — (July 23, 2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Gerson Freitas Jr., Bloomberg
Trump Won’t Be Able to Save the Struggling US Beef Industry   — (Dec. 9, 2024)

SECOND PLACE — Elaine Shein and Mary Kennedy, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Texas Wildfires Reach 1 Million Acres — (Feb. 29, 2024)

THIRD PLACE — Lisa Foust Prater, Successful Farmer
Remembering the Georgia Farmer Who Became President: Jimmy Carter’s 100 Years — (Dec. 29, 2024)

FIRST PLACE — Linda Foust Prater, Successful Farming
Twilight Farms: Even if there’s no heir to take over the family farm or ranch, producers can still ensure their operations will live to see another day  — (February 2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Des Keller, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Farmers Strike Carolina Gold  — (March 2024)

SECOND PLACE — Sara Welch, Farm and Dairy
Taking the lead: Claire Coumos defies odds to show the largest steer at the Portage County Fair  — (9/5/2024)

THIRD PLACE — Gabriel Pietrorazio, KJZZ 91.5 Phoenix
This Hopi dry farmer is trying to safeguard seeds from threats of climate change, commercialization  — (3/19/2024)

FIRST PLACE — Gil Gullickson, Wallaces Farmer / Farm Progress

— Wide-row corn widens opportunities 

—  How these twins win wide-row production — (November 2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Allan Dawson, Manitoba Co-operator
Survey says: Farmers have opportunity to guide seed sector  — (4/11/2024)

SECOND PLACE — Jason Jenkins, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Stomp on SCN Yield Losses: Take SCN management beyond egg counts with an HG type test  — (Summer 2024)

THIRD PLACE — Noah Wicks, Agri-Pulse
Solar storms throw off famers’ GPS systems in heat of planting  — (5/15/2024)

FIRST PLACE 

Jason Jenkins, DTN/Progressive Farmer

PRODUCTION BLOG

— Weed-killing Robot Dog Could Become a Farmer’s Best Friend (2/12/2024)

— Down to the Last Drops? First Dicamba Cutoff Date for Soybeans Has Arrived (6/11/2024)

— Spooky Spots on Fall Décor Post Potential Issue for Corn Farmers (10/25/204)

HONORABLE MENTION

Jennifer Latzke, Farm Progress/Kansas Farmer

COWTOWNS & SKYSCRAPERS

Tell the bees: Saving people by saving bees is a mission we can all support (5/31/2024)

History in the harvest field: Inman, Kan., brought antique combines out of retirement to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Turkey Red wheat (7/19/2024)

Give them a reason to come home to farm (12/13/2024)

SECOND PLACE 

Ed White, The Western Producer

— Losing farmland to urban sprawl receives little attention (6/5/2024)

— Cereals Canada must turn its attention to governance (7/2/2024)

— Radio reporters hustle to get agriculture news on the air (8/1/2024)

THIRD PLACE 

Russ Quinn, DTN/Progressive Farmer

RUSS’ VINTAGE IRON

— South Dakota Farmer Searches for Dad’s Super M Vintage Tractor (7/19/2024)

— Nebraska Farm Family’s Red Tractor Collection Grew From Just One Tractor (9/4/2024)

— Big Life Changes in the Family Lead to a Bittersweet Tractor Reunion (12/16/2024)

FIRST PLACE — Urban Lehner, DTN/Progressive Farmer
It’s Time to Take the Sodas out of SNAP — (4/2/2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Gil Gullickson, Wallaces Farmer / Farm Progress
Future of weed management remains uncertain  — (May 2024)

SECOND PLACE — Gregg Hillyer, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Cash Rent Reset in 2025?  — (October 2024)

THIRD PLACE — Natalie Willis, Valley Ag Voice
California’s Green Regulations Outpace Infrastructure, Leaving Farmers in a Bind— (11/4/2024)

FIRST PLACE — Jason Jenkins, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Hybrid How-To: The Secrets to Growing Seed Corn — (September 2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Des Keller, DTN/Progressive Farmer
To Diversify, Just Add Water (January 2024)

SECOND PLACE — Joel Reichenberger, DTN/Progressive Farmer

Up, Up and Away: Spraying drones have grown from novelty to necessity for some farmers — (October 2024)

THIRD PLACE — Jason Jenkins, DTN/Progressive Farmer
Know All Your Numbers: Take SCN management beyond egg counts with an HG type test — (Summer 2024)

FIRST PLACE — Noah Wicks, Agri-Pulse
GETTING GROUNDED: USDA’s CONSERVATION CHALLENGES

— Inside USDA’s efforts to staff up to meet farmers’ environmental challenges  — (Oct. 13, 2024)

— How USDA leans on outside groups, retirees to fill conservation staffing gaps (Oct. 20, 2024)

— USDA works to train up a new generation of conservationists (Oct. 27, 2024)

— Private-sector conservationists can ease USDA’s growing workload, but interest has been limited (Nov. 11, 2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Mary Kennedy, Russ Quinn, Dan Miller, DTN/Progressive Farmer
HOW THE BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE AFFECTED AGRICULTURE

— Tragedy Strikes Baltimore as Ship Crashes into Francis Scott Key Bridge (March 26, 2004)

— Baltimore Bridge Impact on Ag Machinery (March 26, 2024)

— Bridge Collapse Could Affect UAN Market (March 28, 2024)

— Mississippi River Ports Offer Assistance After Baltimore Bridge Collapse (April 1, 2024)

— Biden Tours Key Bridge Wreckage; USACE Sets Timeline to Reopen Navigation (April 8, 2024)

— NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse (May 20, 2024)

Desmond Keller and Oliver Ward, Agri-Pulse 

AG TRADE’S UNCERTAIN FUTURE

— Exports offer economic impact far beyond the farm gate (Dec. 2, 2024)

—Tariffs, growing competition leave future of China trade in doubt (Dec. 9, 2024)

— Farmers scramble to find new export markets beyond China (Dec. 16, 2024)

Elaine Shein, Mary Kennedy and Jennifer Carrico, DTN/Progressive Farmer

TEXAS, OKLAHOMA WILDFIRES

— About the coverage

— Weather Triggers Texas Wildfire Spread (2/28/2024)

— Texas Wildfires Reach 1 Million Acres (2/29/2024)

— Donations Needed as Farmers, Ranchers Recover From Wildfires, Worry About Weather Outlook (3/1/2024)

— Devastating Losses From Wildfires for Texas Family (3/4/2024)

— Wildfires Ravage Panhandle Ranches (3/8/2024)

— Wildfire Victims Get Outpouring of Help (3/8/2024)

— Ranchers, Farmers Recover From Devastating Wildfires That Scorch Texas, Oklahoma (3/5/2024)

— Fire Victims Should Test Water, Feed (3/20/2024)

SECOND PLACE — Ed White, The Western Producer

TALENT THAT COULD HELP THE LABOUR SHORTAGE ON CANADIAN FARMS

— African-Canadians seen as untapped ag resource  — (June 6, 2024)

— First Nations producers hope for farm comeback (Aug. 1, 2024)

— Potential Indigenous labour force should not be ignored (Aug. 1, 2024)

— How many workers are labour-poor farms ignoring? (Sept. 18, 2024)

— South Asians want ag jobs, but lack opportunity (Sept. 27, 2024)

— Metis struggle to resume vital agricultural role (Oct. 2, 2024)

THIRD PLACE — Liz Partsch, Farm and Dairy

OIL AND GAS DRILLING STRUGGLES IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

— Cecil Township to add new restrictions on oil and gas drilling — (May 22, 2024)

— Cecil Township holds heated meeting on well pad setbacks (June 11, 2024)

— Western Pa. residents fight for increased well pad setbacks (Dec. 11, 2024)

— Range Resources challenges Cecil Township’s new oil and gas ordinance (Jan. 28, 2025)

FIRST PLACE — DTN/Progressive Farmer

Anthony Greder, Todd Hultman, Katie Dehlinger, Mike Watkins, Dave Vrbas, Pamela Smith, Todd Neeley, Lance Woodbury 

SPECIAL EDITION: RAYS OF HOPE

Shedding Light on Rural Mental Health Challenges (May 2024)

HONORABLE MENTIONS — Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest

PARCHED IN THE PANHANDLE: How Seaboard Foods rebuilt the Oklahoma panhandle’s economy, which ushered in a new era of groundwater depletion (6/6/2024)

Emma Glassman-Hughes, Civil Eats

—On Cape Cod, the Wampanoag Assert Their Legal Right to Harvest the Waters (8/21/2024)

—The Mashpee Wampanoag Work with a Cape Cod Town to Restore Their Fishing Grounds (12/11/2024)

SECOND PLACE — Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk (independent journalism collaborative), Erin Jordan, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Delaney Dryfoss, The Lens, Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Bennet Goldstein, Wisconsin Watch, Joy Mazur, Columbia Missourian, Eric Schmid, St. Louis Public Radio

FIVE-PART PACKAGE: FARM TO TROUBLE (6/18/2024)

 — Intro: Slow progress curbing the fertilizer runoff fueling the Gulf’s ‘dead zone’

 — As conservation lags, so does progress in slashing Gulf’s ‘dead zone’

— At the mouth of the Mississippi, Louisiana bears the burden of upstream runoff Why doesn’t it push for solutions?

— Not just a Gulf problem: Mississippi River farm runoff pollutes upstream waters

— Could the Mississippi River benefit from Chesapeake Bay’s strategy to improve water quality?

— ‘We could have a sense of urgency’: Drainage tile drives nutrient pollution

— (Follow up NPR interview) To heal the Gulf of Mexico’s dead zone, we have to look north to Midwest farms (8/15/2024)

THIRD PLACE —Agri-Pulse

Noah Wicks, Rebekah Alvey, Des Keller, Chloe Lovejoy

FOUR-PART PACKAGE: PARTNERSHIPS FOR CLIMATE SMART COMMODITIES  — (8/7/2024))

— USDA’s $3B bet on climate-smart markets relies on widely varying farmer incentives, requirements 

— Four commodities, four different approaches to climate-smart marketing

— Climate projects attract fruit, vegetable growers

— What new Trump presidency may mean for ‘climate-smart’ initiative

WINNER — Ceilidh Kern, Columbia Missourian

City finds ‘forever chemical’ in fertilizer sludge, continues to apply to crops — (6/5/2024)

FIRST PLACE — Ilena Peng, Bloomberg

 — America Is Down to Its Last 100 Cotton Mills (3/23/2024)

 — Farmers Are Breeding Hybrid Dairy Cattle to Sell for Meat (5/17/2024)

 — California Becomes Hot Spot for Bird Flu Cases in Cows, Sparking Fears (10/28/2024)

HONORABLE MENTION — Emma Glassman-Hughes, Civil Eats / Ambrook Research

 — Colostrum for the People (3/7/2024)

 — On Cape Cod, the Wampanoag Assert Their Legal Right to Harvest the Waters (8/21/2024)

 — The Mashpee Wampanoag Work With a Cape Cod Town to Restore Their Fishing Grounds (12/11/2024)

SECOND PLACE — Cassidy Walter, Successful Farming

 — From a Foreign Land: Concern over foreign ownership of American land dates back to the nation’s founding (January 2024)

 — Betting on Butter: Americans are eating more fat and boosting milk prices (April 2024)

 — The Mexico Maize: Navigating Mexico’s ban of genetically modified corn (August 2024)

THIRD PLACE — Noah Wicks, Agri-Pulse

 — Solar Storms throw off farmers’ GPS systems in heat of planting (5/15/2024)

 — Shuttered Iowa poultry plant leaves birds unfed, producers uncertain (10/26/2024)

 — Getting grounded: Inside USDA’s efforts to staff up to meet farmers’ environmental challenges (10/26/2024)