by BETTER FARMING STAFF
Better Farming’s field editor has placed in two categories of a major North American agricultural writing competition.
Mary Baxter earned second in the special projects category and third in the feature category of this year’s North American Agricultural Journalists’ writing competition. She was the sole Canadian to place in either category.
The articles recognized were “Women’s changing role on the farm” (special projects), which appeared in the May 2009 issue of Better Farming magazine and “Road salt: The silent enemy” (feature), which appeared in the August/September 2009 issue. Last year, “Women’s changing role on the farm” also received the Dick Beamish silver award for press feature at the 2009 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation awards competition.
Published 10 times a year, Better Farming is Ontario’s largest circulating farm business publication. It is owned by AgMedia Inc.
According to its website, the North American Agricultural Journalists is “a professional, international group of agricultural editors and writers with a membership spanning the United States and Canada. Formerly the Newspaper Farm Editors of America, and then the National Association of Agricultural Journalists, it was organized in 1952 to promote the highest ideals of journalism and agricultural coverage.”
Contest coordinators released results for three of the contest’s seven categories on Monday. Contest winners will be recognized at the organization’s annual meeting in Washington in April. BF
Congrats to Mary Baxter
Baxter also needs to be commended for venturing into society's "Last Frontier" in the most recent edition - that of mental illness, especially on the farm.
While the stigma of divorce, and even the stigma of being gay, have largely, and deservedly, disappeared, the stigma of mental illness doggedly remains.
If anything, Baxter didn't go far enough into the story about mental illness - particularly when it comes to those illnesses which are seen, and felt, only by the people closest to the person with the illness.
I've long believed that in the same way we have support groups for people living with someone with an alcohol-related disability, we need similar support groups for people who are living with someone struggling with any sort, type, or kind, of mental illness - in many ways, the people closest to a mentally-ill person suffer even more than the person with the actual illness.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Congratulations
Congratulations to Mary and to the staff and owners of BF for their dedication in digging into the story not so obvious. It was the people and the story of unjust hurt portrayed to others that made last years story an award winner. It is most often the human element, happy, sad, innovative or a view from the past that makes agricultural journalism a league of its own.
Thank you for telling, explaining, and defining rural news and news stories from both sides.