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Jul. 29, 2026
Source: Farm Progress news release ST. CHARLES, ILL. - Farm Progress, a leader in agricultural media and events, is proud to announce that 13 staff members have been recognized with prestigious awards celebrating excellence in agricultural communications and journalism International Recognition Andy Castillo was named an IFAJ-Alltech Young Leader in Agricultural Communications, one of ten agricultural journalists selected globally to participate in the program. Administered by the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ), the Young Leaders initiative identifies and supports the most promising new entrants to the profession through an immersive professional development program. Castillo was also awarded the 2026 Andy Markwart Horizon Award and Writer of the Year Honorable Mention from the Agricultural Communicators Network (ACN) at the 2026 Agricultural Media Summit, held July 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. He earned 2nd Place in Personality Profile for "How a Kansas farm girl turned tragedy into rodeo triumph" and 3rd Place in Portrait/Personality Photography for "Sam Slater." Agricultural Media Summit Awards Twelve additional Farm Progress staff members were also honored with awards at the 2026 Agricultural Media Summit. Joshua Baethge earned Master Writer (Level 5) recognition and received 3rd Place in Editorial Opinion for "Now Serving: USDA Approved Facts." Diane Barry achieved Master Communicator (Level 1) status. Pam Caraway was named an ACN Fellow and took 1st Place in Regular Column for "Can we treat each other better?" Rosa Francis dominated the Best Use of Chart and Graph Material category, taking 1st Place for "5 ticks to watch in Illinois" and 3rd Place for "Corn and soybean pest scouting timeline." Gil Gullickson achieved Master Communicator (Level 1) status and received 2nd Place (Tie) in Editorial Opinion for "U.S. Soybean Farmers pay price of Trade War with China" and 3rd Place in Technical Feature for "Corn pollination revolution in motion." Elizabeth Hodges received the ACN President's Award and achieved Master Writer (Level 4) recognition. She also earned 3rd Place in Emerging Writer for "Meet the man who helped discover the flat iron steak." Jennifer Latzke was elected to the ACN Board of Directors. Allison Lynch was named a Master Writer (Level 5). Lisa Lynd earned Master Communicator (Level 1) status and received 2nd Place in Best Use of Chart and Graph Material for "A history of boll weevil eradication" and 3rd Place in Overall Magazine Design-Special Issues-Commercial/Custom for "Pioneer 100th Anniversary Special Issue." Chris Six achieved Master Writer (Level 2) recognition. Holly Spangler was named an ACN Fellow. She received 1st Place in Breaking News for "Philip Nelson defeats Brian Duncan to become Illinois Farm Bureau president" and 1st Place in Editorial Opinion for "The 4-Alarm Fire in Farm Country." She also earned 3rd Place in Regular Column for "What happens to farms when politics drive markets?" and 2nd Place in Team Story for "The ugly truth about trade wars" (with Ava Splear). Ava Splear was named Master Writer (Level 5) and achieved Master Photographer (Level 3) status. She received 2nd Place in Breaking News for "Illinois FFA elects 6 new officers," 3rd Place in Feature Photography for "Joyful FFA officer team," and 2nd Place in Team Story for "The ugly truth about trade wars" (with Holly Spangler). To read more of the winners' work, visit www.FarmProgress.com or subscribe to Farm Progress' print publications and free email newsletters. About Farm Progress As part of Informa Markets, Farm Progress is the largest, most diversified agriculture information business in North America. Through a robust network of live events, digital products, data, marketing services, broadcasting and local and national publications, Farm Progress enables the nation's most economically significant farmers, growers and ranchers to connect and do business. It serves 80% of the 2 million farms and ranches in the U.S., and an estimated 85% of the nation's annual agricultural gross domestic product. Visit our website at www.FarmProgress.com. Tweet |
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