Florida Farm Bureau honors members of news media for ag coverage

Florida Farm Bureau honors members of news media for ag coverage

Florida Farm Bureau Federation recognized several members of the media for outstanding coverage of agriculture and farming issues at its annual meeting last week.

Donna Gehrke-White, editor of the Neighbors edition for The Miami Herald, has been named the “2008 Newsperson of the Year” in the daily newspaper category.

In the community newspaper category, Don and Susan Lincoln were honored for their weekly newspapers Taco Times and the Perry News-Herald, which cover Taylor County.

The Florida Farm Bureau honored Karen Berry of In The Field Magazine with its Ag Journalist of the Year award. This honor recognizes those members of the trade media that cover agriculture within the industry.

Each of these recipients received their awards and recognition on Oct. 9 during the Federation's 67th Annual Meeting in Orlando.

"Journalists like these keep their readers and listeners abreast of developments in agriculture, an industry that is of increasing economic importance to the state," said Rod Hemphill, director of public relations for Florida Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general-interest agricultural organization. “Greater understanding translates into more favorable public policy for agriculture.”