Slovakian journalist Jozef Sedlák was recently named the winner of the coveted IFAJ Star Prize in Agricultural Journalism for his story, “Food Does not Come from Supermarket Shelves,” which was published in the weekend edition of the Pravda daily newspaper.

Judges said they were captivated by the entrepreneurial story of a young Slovak farmer Pavel Petránek, a turkey breeder from Čremošné village, and by the journalistic mastery of the author.

The Star Prize was presented to Sedlák by IFAJ Executive Committee member Dana Večeřová, and Arpád Szabo of John Deere, the company that sponsors the worldwide competition. Sedlák, through the course of his professional journalistic career has “never changed his jersey“ and has remained loyal to the prestigious Slovak daily Pravda, where he is one of the last Slovak agriculture-minded journalists dedicated to agriculture, nutrition, wine and gardening.