The American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) Legacy Committee has announced that three heroes of agriculture will be honored as the 2014 Distinguished Service and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients. The winners will be feted at an awards banquet during the Agricultural Media Summit, to be held July 29 at Indianapolis, Ind.

The AAEA Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient is Joe Martin, PhD, emeritus professor of agronomy at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center at Hays, Kan.

“Joe Martin is considered an unsung hero of the wheat industry,” said AAEA Legacy Committee Chair Larry Dreiling. “While he may not have developed the hard white winter wheat class, Joe’s research brought it forward to be accessible to farmers, who have made it a popular choice in their growing plans. In turn, this class of wheat has led the boom in desire by consumers for healthy whole grain products.”

Two outstanding AAEA past presidents and fellow graduates of Texas A&M University, Joe Dan Boyd, Winnsboro, Texas; and Del Deterling, Richardson, Texas, are this year’s AAEA Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA) recipients.

Both men were attendees at what became known as the “Flame Meeting” of 1984, which kindled AAEA’s modern mission to be an organization for the professional development of its members. As part of this small group, Boyd and Deterling helped to create the building blocks for the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation that now funds a myriad of programs for the betterment of members.

“Joe Dan is a legendary farm writer. At Farm Journal and its Cotton Today publication, he moved readers and stimulated industry colleagues. As one of the first recipients of AAEA’s Writer of Merit award, Joe Dan’s body of work still leads others to make their writing the best it can be,” Dreiling said. “As a past president, he remains a figure of encouragement and inspiration.

“Del is the winner of several awards for writing excellence, as well, including an AAEA Writer of the Year prize. Yet, he is often thought of for his work as a strong, trusted, editor at The Progressive Farmer. He is the embodiment of the word leader, not only in the industry, but in his community.”