The World Food Prize Foundation announced that Ambassador Terry Branstad will retire as President on January 31, 2025, and Foundation Chief Operating Officer Mashal Husain will become President. In addition, the Foundation will conduct a global search for a newly created chief executive role focused on organizational leadership and global diplomacy.
After nearly a decade leading the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska, Peter McCornick announced he will step down as executive director in August 2025. He plans to transition to a full-time faculty role in UNL’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering.
Farm Foundation and National 4-H Council recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a focus on a deeper collaboration in leadership, education and youth workforce readiness for young people who seek careers in food and agriculture. The organizations’ current partnership on the Farm Family Wellness Alliance (FFWA) provides free access to mental health and wellness services to farm families across the United States, including youth ages 16 and up. Now, the two organizations will align on career exploration, leadership training and skill-building opportunities for youth through Farm Foundation’s Next Generation programs and 4-H’s recently launched Beyond Ready initiative. This collaboration will help strengthen young learners’ interest in food and agriculture career pathways as early as elementary school. Additionally, it will help create a ready pipeline of future leaders as they graduate high school and college.
The Farm Credit Administration recently selected Zachary Lund to serve as its deputy chief of staff. In this newly created role, Mr. Lund will support the Office of the Chief of Staff in planning, directing, and overseeing day-to-day control of operations for agency offices in accordance with the operating philosophy and policies of FCA Board Chairman and CEO Vincent Logan and the FCA board.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has appointed five new farmer-leaders to the United Soybean Board (USB) and reappointed 12 others. In total, 17 USB directors and alternates will begin three-year terms, and one director will begin a two-year term. These U.S. soybean farmers, representing 16 states, will be officially sworn in at the USB December Meeting in St. Charles, Missouri, on Dec. 11, 2024.
Seeing a need in the agriculture media community, three women at varying ages and stages in their careers have teamed up to form the non-profit Association of Females in Agriculture Media (A-FAM). With its official launch on December 1, A-FAM seeks to provide networking, professional development, mentoring, and personal support for women in all realms of ag media, including broadcast, print, digital, podcasting, sales, and industry relations.
Rural Media Group officially announces the sale of The Cowboy Channel and The Cowgirl Channel to Teton Ridge. This sale allows us to strategically refresh and focus on our flagship network, RFD-TV, as it approaches its 25th anniversary, with the goal to expand our presence across multiple platforms.
FS GRAIN plans to upgrade and expand its existing grain elevator in St. Anne, Illinois, by adding a new state-of-the-art shuttle loader with mainline, Class I rail services provided by Union Pacific and CSX railroads.
The National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) honored veteran broadcasters Mark Oppold and Curt Lancaster as the 2024 inductees in the NAFB Hall of Fame. Sabrina Halvorson was honored as Farm Broadcaster of the Year. Halvorson, an award-winning, 30-year media veteran, created and implemented California’s first all-agriculture morning news show in 2014. She currently reports for AgNet West, Hoosier Ag Today and Michigan Ag Today. Winning the prestigious Doan Award was Spencer Chase, senior director of communications for the Corn Refiners Association, for his audio report titled “Deep Dive on Farm and Food Policy Drivers” when he was managing editor at Agri-Pulse last year. Stephanie Hoff, Mid-West Farm Report Network, received the Horizon Award, which annually recognizes an outstanding member broadcaster in his or her first five years of professional work.
Emergent Connext, Inc., a leading provider of carrier-grade rural IoT connectivity solutions for agriculture and rural communities, is proud to announce the appointment of Andrew J. Weber to its Advisory Board. Weber, who recently retired after 23 years as CEO of Farm Journal, Inc., brings deep expertise in agricultural business innovation, media, and sustainability to Emergent.
The Georgia Peanut Commission hosted a photo contest throughout 2024 to fill the pages of the 2025 Georgia Peanut Calendar. Peanut farmers and industry representatives from across Georgia were encouraged to submit their best, high-resolution photo from the farm for a chance to feature the photo in the 2025 calendar.
Make plans to attend the 48th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, from 8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton, Georgia. The one-day show is free and open to all farmers and industry representatives to attend.
