AGDAILY wins 2 writing categories at Ag Media Summit

At the 2025 Ag Media Summit, the premier annual gathering for agricultural communicators, AGDAILY staffers were honored with several awards, including first place in two writing categories: Personality Profile and Humorous Article. This year’s event was held July 27 to 30 in Rogers, Arkansas.

Judging for writing categories is based on a submission’s overall writing quality, clarity, and the author’s proficiency in the category. The judges do not consider layout and design in overall scoring criteria.

Associate Editor Heidi Crnkovic won the humor category for her article, The conundrum of letting kids name our livestock, a fun look at how easily some of the cutest (and most ridiculous) animal names can quickly fall out of fashion.

One judge applauded “the lighthearted look at the nostalgia of those periods that now seem so long ago. Nearly all parents and grandparents in the readership will identify with this tale-well-told and will recall similar incidents of their own families.”

Crnkovic received another major recognition, Writer of Merit, which is a career honor given by the Agricultural Communicators Network for having placed or earned judge’s merits in at least 10 of the writing categories showcased at the Ag Media Summit. Each year, those who enter the Writing Awards Program build points to gauge personal professional development by means other than category wins. Writer of Merit is the highest career award that can be given to agricultural journalists, and only a handful of farm and ranch communicators have ever reached this level.

AGDAILY Managing Editor Ryan Tipps won the profile category this year for his piece, Outside the lines: The ranching roots of pro snowboarder Mark Carter, which provided a raw and authentic look at a professional athlete who’s life was shaped by his experiences working with horses and cattle. 

“The interview delivered so much vulnerability and insight that you were able to capture and weave together with great description and interest,” a judge wrote.

Tipps also received a second-place prize for his One-Page Advertorial titled, Miravis Ace eases drought’s stressful stranglehold on wheat, an article commissioned by Syngenta to highlight the plant-health benefits of this modern lineup of fungicides. This award helped elevate Tipps to Level Four in the Master of Communications Program centered around career work in marketing content. 

Crnkovic and Tipps are also the primary contributors to AGDAILY’s content and tone across social media, which was honored at the summit with a second-place finish in the Social Media category, with one judge calling it “a great example for other ag communicators.”

Through authentic storytelling and delivering on trending and newsworthy topics, AGDAILY quickly became one of the most-visited digital agricultural media outlets since its launch in 2016. The site and its staff have been recognized with awards not only from the Agricultural Communicators Network but also the Livestock Publications Council, the National Agri-Marketing Association, and Alltech. And, this year, AGDAILY was featured as one of the most recognized and well-read ag publications worldwide.